[Oh no, she's still doing it over the phone, too.] You can talk like normal, El. Like a conversation face to face. You don't have to say over at the end. Unless you want to.
[It's tempting to do the same, to be funny, except she would take that bit literally, and he doesn't want to confuse her.]
[Mmmmmmmmkay so first: humor, she does in fact have it.
But second and more importantly:] You talked to Tony. [That's not even a question, that's obvious, and he is so rubbing his eyes against the inevitable headache.] Did you show him what you can do?
[MMMMM HE WOULD SAY THAT TOO. Okay. Okay. Punching Tony some more is going to get scheduled for another day.]
He didn't say anything about putting it to a vote or asking the rest of his team about it, did he? [Or anything about the name, like, the B-Team, or, Revengers, or Youngervengers, anything, they can workshop it--]
And I'm sure you can, I'm sure you can prove yourself with time and training. But I'm worried about you. I don't want you getting hurt because of this.
El, I am, what, four times your age, and I've been shooting since I was about your age. It's not just about the skills, though. If he's looking to make a new team, then everyone needs to be able to learn to work as a team. You need to be able to plan on the fly and change those plans on the fly; you need to be able to take orders and give them.
I don't know what all you've gotten up to back home. I'm willing to bet it's a lot more than someone your age ever should've. I don't want you to feel like you're being used.
What I want is for the team to have a say in deciding who gets to call themselves an Avenger. And what I want is for you to be able to live like a more normal little girl who doesn't have to worry about dragons or about saving the people around you.
[But neither of those are happening anytime soon, so. He's quiet for a long moment save for a sigh, staring up at the sky as he weighs this.]
Not all of us get the choice. You got one. You made a choice. I respect that. [He doesn't think she has any idea what she agreed to. He has to wonder if Peter did when he went to fucking Germany.] Just don't be surprised if the rest of us get protective of you, okay?
But I'm not. Normal. [ There's a snap of frustration there. And something else, something darker and more bitter. Something that is second nature to so many Avengers and so tragic on a 13 year old - self-loathing. ] I am different. There are... dragons. Monsters. I want to help.
[ She blows out a breath. He can hear her footsteps - it sounds like she's pacing. There's a door slamming, but not close to her - she used her powers to do that. ]
You don't have... to be happy. But. We protect each other. Compromise. Halfway happy.
[ There's strain there, in her voice. She's upset, and getting the words out is becoming difficult. Takes more effort, more thought. She's not crying, she's just struggling with a barrage of emotions she can't parse, and hates that her mind is small, that it's a struggle to be understood, to be heard. ]
But you're not normal. [He repeats it back to her, quiet but sure. Agreement. She's not normal. And there isn't a chance for her to be normal. And they all have to deal with that.
And maybe it's resignation. If she's not "officially" an "Avenger", then the next time something happens, she's still liable to put herself into the situation, only then she'd be doing it herself, not with a team.
Partners, am I right?]
I'm bad at this part. I give people the chance in the moment, but if the moment isn't here, then they're just a bunch of kids until proven otherwise. It's a bad habit of mine. You should talk to Wanda about it sometime. ...Actually, you should talk to Wanda anyway. She can do a lot of the stuff you do and then some, but she does it differently. She knows things about emotions making your powers happen, too. [And apparently she's got some experience with kids also, but that's not a can of worms he wants to open right now.]
I hurt someone I got to care about because she wanted to help and be a hero, and I wouldn't let her. Until I came to realize we needed each other. That's Kate. She's not here, but if she ever gets brought here, she'll owe me a hefty 'told you so'. So maybe this is gonna be that all over again. Maybe I'm an old dog that's bad at learning new tricks. But there are things about being a hero that you gotta understand, and it's stuff that needs learned through doing.
[ It's not a question. She remembers Hopper's words, too - that he wasn't mad, that he was just sorry. That he was scared to lose her, and that's why he kept her hidden away perhaps a bit too much.
Nothing ever happens. Nothing ever happens, and you stay SAFE.
She thinks about saying goodbye to Mike, when she thought that destroying the Demogorgon would kill her, too. She doesn't think she should tell Clint about that. That like Natasha, she has an understand of self-sacrifice to save others.
She also remembers Mike and Lucas fighting when Mike wanted to include her in the party, and Lucas wasn't happy about it. They'd all made up later. Lucas is her friend now. But she doesn't want Clint and Tony to fight because of her. ]
If you don't want me. To be an Avenger. I will not be on the team.
[ Even if it's stupid. Even if she will be mad about it. Even if it will hurt. ]
Yeah. I'm scared something's gonna happen to you. Even though you're really strong. But if you have a team watching your back, there's less chance of something happening.
[A sigh, and he scrubs his face.]
It's hard for people to see it when they're young, but the idea of someone really young being in danger is really scary. Just because you can fight doesn't mean you should.
But I know you're gonna fight anyway. Cuz that's what you've learned to do. And you know you can. So. This isn't my decision to make. It's not my choice.
[ That's soft, but honest. Eleven's grown attached. ]
I'm young, but I'm strong. And that's scary for you. But... you're old and weak. That's scary for me. [ Sorry, Clint, she doesn't mean that nearly half as mean as it sounds. She means 'grown up' as opposed to 'child' and 'no powers' as opposed to 'strong psychic and telekinetic abilities'. ] Back home. I could have.
[ She stops herself for a moment, and he will hear what sounds like a stifled sob. ]
I could have. Stayed with Kali. From the lab. To find people who hurt us. To kill. For Kali. For me. But my friends were in danger. So I went home. I don't choose to fight. I choose to protect. Myself. My friends. Laura. Erik. You.
[He lets her get through it, and doesn't interrupt. She does seem to get it. He doesn't know her history, but she gets it. She wants to protect. Not fight, not get revenge, not use her power for the sake of power.]
Okay. I'm glad that's what you did. [He's quiet. But calmer about it.] That's what an Avenger would do.
[He's going to leave the question of what that makes him after five years aside. Feels more like a former title these days as it is.]
Hey. Listen. I'm not your dad. I'm not your boss. I'm your friend, okay?
[ She wipes at her eyes, and smiles as she hears those words. She can't help it, the way she craves praise and affirmation. That's how Papa raised her - and she's bad at picking up on other social cues. She will not feel appreciated, wanted or loved unless the words are specifically said to her. She can't read other cues well, if at all. ]
Clint, if that's what I was at all after, I would be bringing you my absolute best and that's a promise; very expensive drinks, candlelit dinner, making sure you weren't allergic to strawberries, the whole nine yards.
[Much more instant:] I'm not [he's a little unclear on what this strawberry metaphor(?) is supposed to mean but know that's not the important part] There's no secret. [WELL........] Why are you even asking about him?
[ Oh. Oh. Okay. The tree's pretty cute, Tony gets it. It's fine. Value-neutral, judgement-free. What happens in Faerie stays in Faerie. Laura will never know. It's all good. Tony's dead anyway so it's not like he's gonna bet to open his big fat mouth to her by accident one day, so-
Fine™️.
He would have preferred Clint to get something out of this arrangement, too, but like. Fine. Prostitution for a pen (or in general) is not everyone's idea of a good time. Tony gets it. Let the man live his life. ]
[About five minutes pass of Clint staring at those two words and wondering if it really is noted, if Tony has any idea what he's saying. If Tony has any idea what Tony is saying. It came up about trading?
And what happens if Tony opens his fucking mouth about it to anyone else-]
Yeah, I did. For [ Is he really going to admit he traded sex for a writing instrument so Strange could write a little clearer right now? No. No, he is not. Granted, without his money, he needs to rely on his backlog of various talents, instead. ] something I needed for a little vanity project of mine.
[ H u h. That is a weird question. Oh well, whatever. Tony fiddles with his Strange's pen, clicking it a few times before he replies. ] Yeah, I meant to. [ Let's ignore the part where Narciso subtly threatened Peter, but mostly it was done without Tony under any kind of duress. ] My idea completely, actually. [ A lie, but one done to make his court ruler look like less of a hoe. Surely that would get him some points one of these days. ]
[Right. Right. Okay. Just like Loki. People who went with him deliberately and with both eyes open. That's...fine. That's great. It's great that other people are having interactions that aren't coerced. Means fewer people hurt. It's fine. He can take it.]
[ read ]
[He doesn't even have anything judgemental to say about apparently trading sex for something wanted. Judgement-free zone or whatever. So long as Tony's good with whatever happened. It's fine.]
[ Jesus, fine. Tony gets it; he's touchy about this. But he's not exactly looking to get punched again so he's going to do the first smart thing he's done since getting here and shut his fucking mouth. ]
[ It's been a week, and Tony's fangs aren't exactly going away as he was hoping they would once Narciso had been reconstituted. So he starts thinking of other possible reasons why he's been gifted with- No, no no. He's not going to start thinking of this like the local weirdos. No way. ]
Can I ask you a potentially stupid question?
[ He doesn't wait for the no before sending: ] Do you have fangs by any chance? Because I think sleeping with His Royal Twinkiness got me fangs. [ Don't even mention the tongue. ]
Yeah I KNOW how it sounds to ask the guy with the emotional availability of a garden snail if he's okay like I'm going to get an honest or straightforward answer but I'm doing it anyway.
Filing this one under "nicest things anyone's ever said about my emotional availability."
But yeah, I'm fine. [ Liar. ] I mean, I grew fangs and now I have a snake tongue, but besides that, yeah, I'm fine. [ Liar. ] In one piece still, and that's the important part.
You sound like me after a hard mission that ended with me laid up in medical. In one piece and that's the part that counts. Coulson was never all that impressed.
Have a feeling a dentist won't be able to fix this one.
Also have a feeling this is the universe's way of punishing me for being a dick and brainwashing people, so. Sorry for that. Maybe we save the weird fairy powers for structured training and emergencies in the future, eh?
I don't think that it is. But I'll still accept an apology. If you ever want to try weird fairy powers for training with me, I can probably be okay with it so long as you aren't a huge jackass about it. Still would prefer getting asked first though.
I thought I could find someone to help me get some mental fortitude about it. Build mundane defenses. Seems he's up and disappeared. How do you think Strange would be on a more magical front about it? Maybe make a charm of "get out of my head"?
[There's something about the don't really have the same practice that twinges. For several reasons. That she's a young shut-in who needed emergency cognitive VR therapy (he will keep making up new phrases for it because genuinely: what the fuck), that her friends a seasoned thieves who know their way around weaponry. It's entirely possible she just wants to be impressive in a physical way instead of just in a--boost skills from a fucking UFO way.]
It would be hilarious if you could end up making some difficult shots that Akechi can't master yet. [Sure, frame it that way.]
What the hell, I'm already teaching people how to shoot bows. You want that too? Or just throwing?
akechi would be SO mad [ Which means she is automatically down for this idea.
And while she did initially just want to learn how to throw darts better... ] you'd teach me how to shoot stuff?
really? [ She realizes she probably should learn some kind of method of defending herself. Especially considering the team is missing a few people, so when they go to change the court rulers' hearts, they'll need all the help they can get. ]
Throwing stuff is cool. Shooting stuff is cooler. Both can be real useful in a pinch.
Okay little bunny FuFu. All you need to do is bring yourself down to the range. I can let you borrow a bow and some things to throw. That aren't knives because the last thing we need is for you to cut yourself open trying to do some cool tricks
I don't know if you've seen, but our newest resident is none other than Thanos himself.
[And look, she saw what he did after the king turned himself into mini versions of himself. Part of it is knowing that even if he's from some time after, she still remembers Ronan.
And then there's the other fact that despite being told that that what she did was worth it, that they reversed what he did, still seeing his face does bring out more that she would never say to Thanos himself, but that does shake her. She would make that same sacrifice again if she had to, a million times, if it meant the same outcome, but even just placing a moment of doubt in her head after the conversation she had with Tony of the mere chance of going home?
Well Nat's a little more shaken up than she would admit to anyone but Clint.]
Yeah thanks I hate it. Can we just let him decimate them and the rest of us go home now?
[Clint's avoiding the whole thing. He's going to try. He's already gotten into an argument with Tony about Tony thinking he can talk his way out/through/around this to get their causes temporarily aligned.
There's a well of patience and capacity for forgiveness, an understanding that everyone deserves a second chance, that Clint has within him. An ability to let grudges fall away before they get to solidify.
He's pretty sure none of that extends to the guy that made five years of his life hell and made him lose his best friend. So sue him if he's a little upset about this development.]
I don’t think it’s that simple. But I don’t think he’s got as much power to him as he thinks he does, without the stones and armies.
[Sure, his size is formidable, but that’s not something Nat is worried about. Just his presence is an unnerving reminder. She feels it, and that’s why she wanted to message him, too.]
I feel very strongly about the fact that this is an area I think we're allowed to be petty and angry about. Do we need to kick off a war and get all these other people who have nothing to do with it involved? No. But I'm not about to break bread with him.
What I want is to get up on that roof and take out his eyes with a good shot.
I won’t be sitting down with him any time soon. We lost too much, and I thought maybe foolishly this place was a sort of refuse of that.
Honestly he’s expecting it, and he wants to retaliate. I’m not say play nice, but I think he would involve the others if we attack him. He clearly has no issues with making a scene.
Everyone deserves a second chance. Except maybe that motherfucker.
He sits himself down talking about peace while also explaining how scary he is, and we're supposed to just sit back and do nothing? Stark wants to talk to him. Enemy of my enemy his ass. It's insane. I understand the tactics of it, but I still think it's insane.
A second chance involves atoning. I don’t think he wants to, nor can I even think of how he could.
I think it should be done, and Tony is probably the best for it. We need to keep tabs on him. If the fae start changing him, giving him magic—- I don’t want to think about it, Clint.
Oh yeah? Did she manage to save your ass, or is she going to mope about failing to do so like Steve's doing? I have to rely on text and my meager ASL now btw. Yay.
He's a good kid. Really wild story. I don't understand it in the slightest.
I didn't make it back up. Woke up in bed though. Hard to say if I died, but it seemed like dying. William says I didn't get to meet the actual personification of Capital D Death because we're not allowed to die and stay dead here. Yeah that sounds like something the fairies would pull.
Did anything happen to you after? [After. After she fell, after she died. Did she meet anyone, or go towards a light, or end up stored somewhere souls sacrificed to the fucking rock go, or anything? Or just end up here?]
I’d heard you come back like some weird immortality. Not that it makes the experience any better I’m sure. If you need company, you know I’m here. And you can teach me some new sign.
It was just dark. A whole lot of nothing. It felt like an eternity and a second. I just woke up in the middle of a fairy party. Found you not long after.
I spoke to Wanda right after I got here. It was good to see her. Sam’s here now. I ran into him, too. Barnes went home and came back. He actually formed some group with Yelena. Seems she’s trying to do more.
I'm glad Yelena's getting some more friends besides my apprentice. I can hold a grudge on the big guy no problem, but I can't hold a grudge on her even if she did try to kill me.
Well if that isn’t a punch right to the gut. Nat already has been feeling that guilt of knowing her choice meant leaving Yelena behind, but hearing the extent isn’t any easier.]
I’m sorry. I know Yelena can… feel things pretty heavy. And when she gets an idea—- she’s good at sticking to it.
I'm glad you taught me your whistle. Pretty sure it saved me from getting double tapped right in the head. We aren't friends now, but she decided not to kill me, so I'm going to just pretend that's the same thing in this context.
Honestly with Yelena that might be the same thing. For what it’s worth, I think you must have said something to her. Sounds like Barnes is trying to do something good, and Yelena wants to be a part of it.
[Apparently she wanted to be more like Nat. Which really made her feel like a big sister moment.
I only told her the truth. That there was never going to be anything I could do to stop you. That you were always better. That if I had the power to take your place, I would've. That I missed you.
I don't think I convinced her to do anything but accept I wasn't necessarily responsible for what happened to you. Still haven't quite convinced myself of it some days. Whatever she decided to do with her life after, that's all her.
[It's out of the blue. And he knows she can make waffles. She'd only been bugging Tony about it weeks ago. So. He's going to take this as a sign that maybe something's wrong, or maybe she's feeling something Big, or maybe she just feels bad that she hasn't reached out.
Hey, neither has he. They're all busy and stupid here. And she should try to make nice with people more her own age, maybe.]
There is never a bad time for waffles. [and he will stand by that statement]
[ See here's the thing. Eleven really likes Erik. But Erik said waffles aren't lunch, and Clint thinks there is never a bad time for waffles. That's gonna earn him brownie points. Waffle points? Anyway. This is why she likes you, Clint. ]
yes. I will make so many waffles. we will eat them all. can you come over here?
[ Can you get where you're not supposed to be, Clint, CAN YOU. What an insulting question honestly, but in her defense, she hardly knows he's a Super Spy and all that. ]
[He won over his skeptical teenage roomie by saying you don't need a whole birthday party to have birthday cake, so. Man encourages food. GIRLS NEED TO KNOW THEY ARE ALLOWED TO EAT FOOD.]
[Listen, when you have multiple teenagers in the house, you adapt or you die.
Anyway, no big deal for him to scoot over a tower and come up the steps and knock at the door like a normal person. Could he climb up the window? He could! But if he doesn't have to, stairs are his friend. Thank you, stairs.
When she opens the door, he waves. And just now it's striking him that being limited to his sign might actually...help them communicate. Not at risk of using big words, or too many words, or very unfamiliar words.]
[ But coming through the window is so much cooler, Clint. Care a little about impressing teenagers, why don't you?
Eleven's face lights up when she sees him, small smile playing on her features. The truth is... a lot of people died and got hurt, and Laura lost people, and Erik lost people, and Eleven might have spied on her home and seen something that hurt her. She's coming out of the hurt she's been nursing. ]
Hi.
[ She's wearing horrifically clashing colours and patterns. Her hair is growing out into an utterly messy, untamed mop. But there are flowers in it, holding on for dear life. Eleven takes Clint's hand, gives it a small squeeze, and leads him to the blanket fort - a massive thing that dominates most of the room, and looks well put together. In fact, the metal frame holding it up looks very custom made.
In the blanket fort is.... what passes for a stack of waffles. Towering, and looking increasingly unstable, like it's going to topple any second now. And the waffles themselves? A fun mix of misshapen, burnt, not quite cooked through. There are dollops of what may or may not be whipped cream, as well as honey and fruit jam to act as syrup, and what looks like bits of fruit sprinkled all over like... well, sprinkles.
[Oh wow. Now that's a professional blanket fort job. Lila would go nuts for something like this even now. El's fashion sense hasn't gotten any better, but at least she's looking a little more her age. Could use a brush out of her hair, but he doesn't want to disrupt the flowers carefully placed in it. And everything smells like waffles.
Just, like, waffles of varying states of doneness. And, ah, yeah, okay, that'll explain it. It's a pile of waffles in varying states of doneness. Some of them look...questionable, but others look perfectly edible. And if nothing else, eat around the ? bits to get at the good stuff.
The fort is cozy, and the fact that he fits inside it as well as he does means yeah, definitely an adult helped them with the design. The metal makes him think Tony. Would Tony bother helping make a frame for--yeah, actually, probably, with a lot of bottom lip wibbling and emotional guilt-tripping. He already made a wafflemaker.
So Clint takes the fort, signs his thanks, and starts from the precarious top lest the whole thing fall over before he's got a chance to dig in.]
[ Close - the construction was all Erik, bending metal to his will like it was nothing. Tony, however, is about to get a request to build El a sensory deprivation tank.
Because that's a normal thing for a 13 year old girl to want. Don't worry about it.
Whoever allowed Tony Stark to bond with and talk to a girl who has the power level and mental bandwidth of a tactical nuke should feel really bad, actually.
Eleven digs in to the tower, too. Unlike Clint, she does not eat around the bad parts. She just shoves large chunks of everything into her mouth like a feral little gremlin. Her eyes keep drifting to his hand. Huh. She imitates the gesture how he taught her. She thinks of Alicia, who can talk, but her throat is badly burnt so it hurts to do so. Quiet and sad and beautiful when she put flowers in Eleven's hair because Eleven bartered a visit to the blanket fort for flowers in her hair, and thus made a new friend. ]
I have a new friend. Alicia. [ She doesn't pronounce it the American way - but Ah-lee-see-yah. ] Talking hurts her. [ She keeps pondering for a moment. ] If she wants to. Would you teach? Her and me. Us. So we can talk. No voice. No pain.
[Eleven is not a normal girl with normal sensibilities. He hasn't said a single word, and that doesn't seem to bother her, doesn't ask about it. But she does notice the sign, and she clearly remembers when he had tried some out while speaking at the same time, just as practice for a skill that was already starting to get rusty without everyday use.
And then she asks after it but in a very different context, and it warms his heart. That she would like to teach someone who has trouble speaking, so it doesn't hurt.
He chews waffle thoughtfully. It's kinda gummy inside, not fully done, but serviceable enough. One of the better parts of this, he figures, is being able to talk with your mouth full. His hands start to move, and every word is understood in spite of a lack of knowledge back home. Maybe some fairy magic is alright.]
I'm still a student. I'm still learning. I'm not very good at it yet. [Some of his movements have evened out from this daily use as of late, but he's hardly what he would call fluent.] I can teach what I know.
[ There are many things Eleven doesn't know. Asking for care, for company, is one of those things. She's used to an environment in which she'd had to keep her head down, and after that her existence has mostly been one of hiding and waiting for people to come to her. She's not quite figured out how to approach people and just get care, connection, company.
But she knows, from Papa, how transitional connections work. She wants to see Clint, so she offers food in the hopes he will join her. She wants flowers in her hair, so she offers time in the blanket fort in trade. Alicia has pain, Eleven sees a way to help, and tries to reach for it. She wants to learn, but does not ask for herself. She wants a friend, and tries to find reasons for Alicia to want to be her friend.
Because if 12 years in the lab have taught her anything it's that affection is tied to her use, and she's still struggling with unlearning that. Still thinks she needs to save her friends to have worth. Still thinks she needs to be a hero in order not to be seen as a monster.
Eleven shoves a big forkful of half-burnt waffles into her mouth, chewing as she watches Clint's hands move. She nods, accepting that. For a moment, she's quiet, then: ]
Words are hard.
[ When she's anxious, her speech patterns get progressively worse. She struggles with grammar and pronunciation so much more than she should at her age. She looks at Clint. Repeats the sign for 'thank you' again. ]
[Fully agreed. He hasn't regained the ability to use his voice ever since he died-but-not, and he's appreciating the idea of being better understood and being able to express words and thoughts and feelings and concepts all the more for it.
He motions to his ear, where his hearing aid is.] Hard to hear sometimes. Reading mouths is- [And what he wants to say is that it's a myth, but he has to work with a simpler, more reduced vocabulary. 'Lipreading is bullshit' doesn't fly very well here.] -a lie. It's really really hard. Sign is like reading. [Easier. If you know how to read it. Which, well, given the magic here, the reading isn't the hard part.
He motions then to his throat.] I got hurt in the water. I can't talk now.
[ Her face falls a bit. A lot of people got hurt in the water. She'd.... not had a good time there, but her hurt was just panic. She can't swim, not that the faeries care, and being underwater reminds her of the tank from the lab.
And then the kraken...
So many people...
Many people Eleven cares about. Her face twists up for a moment. She'd helped Laura get away, but other than that... Eleven feels like she failed at helping. After a moment, she blows out a breath. ]
You died. Erik, too. I didn't save people. Not a good Avenger.
[There's only so much of that kind of reaction he can take from Steve, a full adult who puts too much on his shoulders. Futaba expresses it, too--the idea if she were better, could do more, then surely she would have saved her friend. And now, from someone even younger?
His mouth says hey, though it only comes out as a huff of air. Because his hands reach around the waffle mass to take her hands gently. Securely. To try and impress upon her his own seriousness when it comes to the blame game. His hands can't stay there, in order to talk to her, so they reluctantly pull away.]
You can't help everyone. Focus on what you can do. My friend is strong; he couldn't help. He feels bad. It wasn't his fault. [And sure, maybe there are some who can take on the whole of what happened, but they are few and far between.] Were you scared?
[ Her face twists up a bit. Not quite crying, though emotions visibly wells in her. There's a mix of everything - from grief to guilt to anger to fear - and to Eleven, it's all just one big, giant ball. She's never been taught how to regulate herself like a normal child. Papa encouraged volatile reactions and soft obedience; anything else was not useful for the kind of weapon he wanted to create. And Hopper has a tendency to get loud and explosive himself when his emotions get too big.
The truth is, it takes everything not to just throw herself into a temper tantrum, a screaming match with her own frustrations that could wreck half the castle and then some.
Instead, after a moment, she blows out a harsh breath. ]
Yes. Water. Big monster. Bigger than the Demogorgon.
[ Upset makes her sentences shorter, more choppy. Her lips pull into something almost pouting, decidedly petulant. ]
Your friend. I'm stronger.
[ Does she know which friend he means? No. Is is true? She certainly thinks so. Does it matter? Absolutely not. She says it more because she wants to push back on something Clint says, but doesn't want to push on the things that he says that are kind and bring her comfort. In a way, even if she doesn't quite know it, being a little brat about something utterly not the point helps the roll of emotions not crash down over her. ]
[Upset makes the words harder. He gets it. Water and a big monster. She's still just a little girl with a lot of fucked up experiences under her belt. It's normal. She should be scared. And it's normal to see that fear as a weakness.
She at least tries to get through the tumult. Tries not to break down entirely, even if it means going around the issue to focus on something different. It isn't the point, but he's going to allow it for the moment, huff out some air in a laugh.]
I'd like to see the two of you fight. [Maybe not fight. Should he try to rephrase that? Mm, not a big deal, he thinks. The intention might come across just fine.
He makes a point of stabbing another waffle and holding it out to her. See? There's waffles. So things can't be the worst ever.]
[ it works, and it helps. The slight refocus within the bubble of conversation, his calm. The waffles, too. The smile she gives him is small, but deeply earnest. Takes the offered waffle, too, because she will never not want to stuff her face, honestly.
Mouth half-full and cheeks puffed out, she eventually says: ]
I'm not... scared of much. Water. [ She thinks, then amends: ] Under the water. Small, dark room. Papa.
[ Monsters not so much - they are scary, but don't inherently scare her. But she's not sure how to explain that. Some more chewing, then: ]
I fought Thor. [ Eleven seems very proud of that. ] But. He scared me. Electric hammer. I can fight your friend. I'll be careful to not hurt him.
[Water. Being in water, or not knowing how to swim? She can be taught to swim, that one's not a problem. He could argue a blanket fort is potentially a small, dark room, except that it isn't dark when lit up from the inside.
He gives another laugh, though, at the idea of Thor scaring a kid. Thor? Sorry, Thor, scaring the psychic child.] Thor is a teddy bear. Big hugs. Very funny. [But maybe having a lightning hammer used against you can be scary. Sparring with Thor was never an easy time.] Steve is very strong. He has a- [...Hmmmm.] -s-h-i-e-l-d to help him too.
[ She worries her lip for a moment, not sure if she should tell him. But she likes Clint. And Clint likes the Avengers. ]
We... fought. Because he said I'm not stronger than him. I kept him from flying.
[ She holds up her hand, palm out the way he's seen her use her power - she used them to ground Thor. It was a strain, and she wouldn't have been able to do it indefinitely - but for a moment there, she'd kept him from moving at all, even if it was hard. ]
He called... lightning. I'm not scared. But... the hammer. He moved to me, and the hammer made sparks.
[ Her eyes skitter away for a moment. Then she looks up at Clint, lowers her voice like she's telling a secret. ]
The lab. Collars with sparks, sometimes. The guards have. Sticks with sparks.
[ She makes her index and middle finger stiff, leans over and pokes them lightly against Clint's ribs. Like a cattle prod. ]
So. I got scared. Thor was kind, then. He hugged me. Until I wasn't scared anymore.
[Ah. Yes. A child experiment who had to go through shock collars and cattle prods might have a few hesitations regarding a lightning hammer and oh that's his vision going absolutely red for a moment.
Clint scoots closer in beside her and throws an arm around her. Thor would be kind to a scared child once he knew the sparring wasn't enjoyable. He would. Thor's good people, and Clint is not going to just let this go without giving her a hug, too.
It makes him so furious he's surprised he doesn't spontaneously magically have the ability to spit fire.] That shouldn't happen. [The shocks. To kids.] I'm sorry.
[ She's a little stiff at first when his arm comes up around her. But just for a heartbeat or two. Then she scoots close, leans in. Tucks herself against his side like she was meant to fit there, like all children do with people who are parents at heart. ]
It's okay. I'm out.
[ Not free - neither at home nor here. But... out of the lab. ]
I can grow my hair. I have friends. I learn.
[ And she wraps her arms around him - as if she's the one offering comfort to Clint now, not the other way around. It's okay, she says, and hugs him tight. ]
[It's not okay. Nothing about any of the situation is anywhere close to okay.
But she's somewhere better than she was. So that's something. It's not okay, but it's better. And that's a good place to start. She mentions her hair, and he'd like to offer to brush it, but there are flowers tucked in it, placed with care. By a friend. Okay. He can take a breath and squeeze her tight.
[ She squeezes back. Eleven is getting better at that, especially with the people she cares about. After a moment she pulls back. Puts her hand on Clint's cheeks. Her expression is a little sad, a little apologetic, and very fond. ]
I make you sad.
[ She pulls back further, not to get away, just give him room to sign and so that she can actually see his hands. ]
[She is bright and beautiful and wonderful and makes him both confused and happy, makes him alarmed and tired in a way that's familiar when dealing with kids.]
[ There's something she's learned. From Joyce, from Hopper, from Erik, from Clint. Eleven slightly pushes up on her knees to gain a little more height, and then she gives Clint a kiss on the forehead.
It's what adults she trusts do to her for comfort and affection. So it's what she does to Clint now. ]
Kali escaped. She was 008. Older than me. Didn't grow up in the lab. The last few years, it was just... me.
[Oh no. Oh no, that's adorable. She's mimicking, she's had it done to her in times of distress, so she's doing it to adults. He can't even say it's not appropriate, just...it's odd and cute and funny. And sad. That she feels the need to take care of people around her.]
Did she already have a name before she was 008? [Since she didn't grow up in the lab. Kidnapped off the street and experimented on?]
[ Eleven nods while settling back down. Her face isn't quite as childlike as one would hope now - a little more somber and a little more serious, just like when they originally met, when she was wearing the clothes. ]
Yes. Kali Prasad. I saw... a newspaper. In Hopper's files. 'Vanished - Indian Girl Missing in London'. [ She quotes the headline, mispronouncing it like Indy Anne and Lonn Donn. ] Last seen July 12. 1969. [ She says Nineteen-Six-Nine. ] She was... 5.
[ She'd taken that newspaper clipping when she ran away from Hawkins, and read it over and over again. ]
[He won't correct the pronunciation. Mostly because he literally can't. That's not the big deal. The big deal is someone was already tracking down missing kids from around the world and that missing kids from around the world were part of one big conspiracy with a lab that hopefully burned to the ground.]
[ Eleven pauses, as if she never stopped to think about it. In many ways, she hasn't. She didn't even know to question her life until very recently - or at least, that's what she thinks. There is more context, buried deep down in repressed memories she has no idea how to reach for. So for now, a small shrug. ]
I was meant to spy. And I was supposed to learn... remote assassination. [ The official reason for everything Hawkins Lab did before she found the monster. That Papa had motives related to the Upside Down long before she became aware of its existence... well. That's beyond her understanding. At any rate... ] I don't... remember the others. The children. Just... doors. Empty rooms. Something... happened. In the Rainbow Room. I don't remember.
[ She fidgets. ]
Kali has. Different powers. She puts images in your head. They're... not real.
[Of course they were going to use the little psychic girl to assassinate people at range with her brain! Of course they were. Why would he ever be surprised about that. Christ.]
Puts in memories? Thoughts? Makes you see things? ['Rewire someone into a different person' is a different skillset than 'make you hallucinate', but what the hell does he know. He also has no idea how to say 'induce hallucinations or brainwash a new personality' in ASL, so this is simpler.]
Were you all special in the same way?
[Was it just hearsay, stories about kids with strange mental abilities, or was there a genetic marker being looked for, or exposure to some chemical or phenomenon-? Is that important? Maybe not in this moment. But it's more information about what El's up against back home and why.]
Are you fucking dying, what happened? Did the ghost of christmas future spook you? Did you get more demon devil traits and you're feeling introspective?
I feel like answering that question is going to make you want to rescind the apology. Maybe whatever you're apologizing for should include you convincing your other self to take the flying purple people eater out of the FUCKING GROUP CHAT
[Which is just that. It's all Tony gets. Clint decides he needs to send Steve a text first, and when Steve suggests talking to Strange, he sends him a text, too.
[And then, after some waffling, and some conversations, Clint comes eventually out to the blacksmith, because Strange said he was there. Maybe he's gone eventually to his room, but it's not a bad place to start anyway.
Don't be weird, Tony. Just be alive and be, like, normal or something. Clint won't even be sneaky about it! Just full on approach and a wave. Do not! be weird! about things!]
[ Tony pauses his hammering for just long enough to look up and give Clint a nod. ] Hey.
[ He goes back to the homemade bullets he's fiddling with for a bit, occasionally looking up almost suspiciously at Barton. ] You... Good? You okay? [ Because Tony sure as fuck does not know how to do this not at all awkwardly. ]
I'm still as okay as I was the last time you asked. [Granted, Clint didn't really answer, but that's because he was worried what the fuck was happening with Tony. He spreads his hands.] Look. I wasn't gonna ask. [...Well-] I was going to, and then I got talked out of it. I figured we could talk some shop about making me some specialized arrows like I used to have back home.
[His hands drop.] But if you're gonna keep being weird about it, I can just start with the thing you're dancing around instead.
[ Nope he's good! ] Yyyeah I can totally make you some special arrows. [ Tony forces a chuckle. ] What'd you want? [ A beat. ] Have in mind? [ He corrects himself for no reason. ]
Gotta start with the basics. [Tony is still failing step one, but maybe if he distracts Tony with a project...] Grapple's right at the top of the list. But with this technology level, we can't go too tech-y, right? So...net, smoke bomb, cable, bola, suction cup. Basics. Flashbang feels like it could be doable even without gunpowder, but it might be good for me to dip my archer fingers in the world of magic to get some effects that normally need a little more oomph.
I can start cracking at a grapple for ya. Make the horrible death canyon a bit easier...
[ But at the mention of magic arrows, Tony pauses mid-jotting down a note of what he should work on building. ] Bet Strange'd be happy to help you out with the oomph. [ A beat. ] Ooooh...
[ He gets up from his bench holds up an index finger to tell Clint to give him a second. Then he takes a few breaths before he does a weird hand motion, one of Strange's shields appearing on each of Tony's hands. ...For about five seconds before fizzling out. ] Shield arrow would be pretty cool, you gotta admit. [ Or, fuck, portal arrow, if he could figure out how to get the sling ring's magic to integrate with something else... ]
[Well...hot damn, Strange wasn't exaggerating, Tony can do some magic. Maybe not much and maybe not for long, but honest to god magic from home. Clint nods, impressed.]
Pretty cool, just not sure what I'd do with it. Smack someone with a resounding gong? I can dabble with the experts about what kind of shit I could pull without having to clap my hands, turn around three times, and spit or whatever.
Yeah, bit of a pain in the ass to do mid-battle admittedly. [ He says with a laugh. ] But- I'll talk to some people about enchanted arrow ideas, how 'bout that? [ It feels like an absurdly normal conversation to Tony. In a way, that bothers him more.
He picks at a couple things in his workspace that he'll probably be able to turn into a grapple arrow, grabs some parchment and a pen and gets to work designing. ] C'mere. [ Considering it didn't seem like Clint was in any particular hurry to leave. ] What d'ya think? [ It was a bit more overly complicated and steampunk-y than normal, and the materials would definitely not be as high quality, but- It was a start. ]
And by some people, you mean your boyfriend. [Just saying! Just saying.]
I think we got the start of something we can work with here. [Just to ease back from the teasing to the actual meat and potatoes of work.] We don't need complicated. Honestly, if you just make a grappling hook that fits on an arrow, I can do the rest with some rope, but we can try and be a little more professional. I've got my very own blacksmith on call, right? [He shoulders Tony playfully.]
I- Mean Strange, yeah... [ A beat, he clears his throat. ] Look, it's tough out there for wizards. Market's completely oversaturated; so I'm helpin' him out with a referral or two. Sue me.
[ Tony playfully elbows him back. ] You've always had your own blacksmith on call, I just used to go by somethin' different. [ There's a smirk on his face when he follows it up with. ] But I'm the Metal Whisperer, now, don'tcha know.
Helping him out in plenty of other ways that I don't need to know about, too, I'm sure.
[He scrunches his face at the name. What. Tony.] No, you're definitely not. You might as well stay Iron Man if you're gonna have a blacksmith-y nickname. It's still so useful and evocative. Hey, you think the fairies have ever heard any Black Sabbath? [Someone get thee some bards and form a metal band. C'mon. Surely they can figure it out.
And of course it's right in the middle of the cajoling that he has to hit Tony over the head with the whammy:] I don't forgive you, you know. [And don't worry, he's going to let that sink in for a beat or three. For what it's worth, Clint doesn't look mad or upset or anything other than still kind of having a smile about Iron Man, actually. He shrugs a shoulder.] Or guess it's really more that I can't, I s'pose. Can't forgive you for something if I don't know what I'm forgiving.
[ The brief smirk on Tony's face is positively wicked, but he says nothing about all those things Clint doesn't need to know about.
Aaaand then his face falls. And keeps falling. Until Clint gets done with his explanation that he can't decipher what Tony's weird behavior is about. Okay that's- Doable. Tony can do this. ] Just- Apologizing for busting your balls so much, man. [ His too loud laugh probably makes it clear that he doesn't know how much more detail he needs to give to make this clear. He takes a big breath, and decides to just- Go for it. ] About... The king, I mean.
[Look. It's a little bit fun. Consider it his own way of ball busting, just in a way that's perhaps slightly less damaging. Clint's face freezes in stone when the actual topic is dropped. Easy smile and searching eyes turned cold and stiff.]
That's a turnaround for you. Given how much you were enjoying bringing that up at real inconvenient moments. What, you do another trade with him and decide he rubbed you the wrong way?
[Is there a word for something slotting into place and shattering all at once? There's probably a German word for it, but in spite of knowing German, he can't think of one that's quite the vibe of the mental sensation this knowledge has on him.]
You fucking-- [misread the situation??? what- how the hell did-] This entire time, you really thought I-- [was boyfriends with king fuckface, king of the fuckfaces???
Clint runs a hand over his face, then back through his hair, turns and takes a few paces away, turns and comes right back. Opens his mouth like he's going to start shouting, closes it again. Looks around, grabs Tony by the arm, drags him to a quieter corner and keeps his voice low.]
Just so we're crystal clear, do you understand the situation now? Are you sure?
[ Okay, ow buddy; the heart thing means he bruises like a banana. ] Yes, Jesus, I understand. [ Don't make him say it, man. Just don't. ] The King's a fuckin' asshole, I get it.
[ Don't say Natasha. Don't say Natasha. ] 'M smarter than I look? [ A beat. He's gonna need a better excuse than that. ] Something about it didn't feel right, so- I put two and two together. [ Another beat. ] Well. Really it was more... Square root of the square of x-one minus x-two plus the square of y-one minus y-two. [ A third beat. To really sell it. ] Distance between two points, if you even care.
[Actually just stop saying words, genuinely shut the fuck up, Do Not Open Your Mouth Further, though whether Tony listens to that or not is entirely up to Tony. And Tony's unfortunate impulses.
Take a breath. Nice and deep through the nose.]
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Tony. Because you're my friend. You have said and done some pretty horrible stuff to your friends before, but I'd like to think that if you hadn't misread the situation? That some of the things that came out of your mouth would not have come out. I'd like to think that you would have gotten really awkward and quiet and then said something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic. So I guess this is kind of that, just really belatedly.
[ Tony seals his lips shut. He just awkwardly stands there, feeling terrible, and Not Opening His Mouth Further. ] Mhm. [ Is his response when he dares make a noise. He follows it up with a hard swallow.
After a long, pregnant pause, he tacks on: ] Do you want me to say something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic...? [ Because Tony would really like to do that right about now. ]
1) would you teach a robot sign language? he can't talk and you're the expert
and this one is way more important dare i say... super important 2) do you want the super soldier mountain dew? because your idiot friend thinks you definitely don't even though it TOTALLY saved him when i shot him (accidentally...) which seems completely unfair!!! sentai logic dictates you ALL have to be evenly matched!!!!!!
I'm not an expert. I barely speak it at all. I'm not sure I'm qualified to teach it, but I already agreed to teach what I know to someone else, so fuck me I guess.
There is no super serum here. Nobody can recreate it. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOT HIM
[ She kinda already promised the robot she'd get him help, sorry Clint! ]
I DIDN'T MEAN TO, JEEZ it was at the party he was hooked up to one of the targets i SWEAR i healed him after your bf's FINE just a jerk who won't give you a blood transfusion for like literally zero reason at all
Just point me in the right direction or give them my handle or whatever works best. Didn't think I'd be teaching anything other than archery.
Oh shit yeah okay then you couldn't have done anything about it. Did you do okay? I mean you hit him obviously you weren't perfect, but nobody expects perfection from a beginner. And I don't need a blood transfusion. God I know we have some doctors here but I don't know that I'd trust anything fairy with something like that anyway. And not sure it works that way. [we could find out it works that way if we fucking let patriot be a fucking thing kevin]
I'm not going to just hook myself up with some Steve blood. Or Bucky blood. Or Bruce blood for that matter. Or Peggy blood. I'm not looking to vampire suck some super duper strongman juice out of anyone. What is your deal I promise being super soldier would not have saved my stupid ass.
I'm sorry she died because you couldn't do anything about it. That doesn't make you stupid. It doesn't make him stupid either just because he couldn't do anything about it.
no i don't but wouldn't it be nice? with all the stuff you can already do without any kind of superpower, you'd be like. unstoppable with actual powers...
[It's a nice sentiment, honestly. This idea that she thinks it would make him safer. And shows how young she is, too, in not getting why someone wouldn't want it.
Rest assured, a lot of people want it, and that's caused so many problems.]
So you've met Steve. He's big, he's got muscles like a god, he's got that corn chip shape that women swoon over.
Before he got dosed up with super juice? Tiny. Skinny as a twig. A strong wind could've knocked him over. Sickly as anything, I don't actually know how he survived as long as he did. Tenacity? Sheer stupid stubbornness? I mean by all accounts he was TINY.
No one's ever accused ME of being too tall before.
Look I appreciate what you're trying to say. I don't know how valid a point it is to even think about if it's not a viable option anyway. [is it a viable option though?????] Also let's just consider the idea that turning my friend into a blood bank to microwave superness into anyone who wanted it is a very scary and fucked up idea.
Oh shit you haven't met Bruce yet have you. Or the spider kid!
Anyway it was WWII and the serum was from a German scientist who defected and needed to find someone fitting to experiment and it was Steve. Don't worry about it, ask him for the story if you're interested. And maybe you are?
There's a spider kid. He doesn't look like a spider, so you can't tell from just looking at him. Bruce is on my team. If you've ever seen a guy who is huge and angry and green, that's Bruce's other half.
oh you guys have a persona?? user???? or is it more like that other guy in our court - nahobino - who has something kinda sorta similar to a persona? but it's actually totally different??
also wait why is he a spider if he doesn't look like a spider?
[ One day in early August, Clint will find a small bundle outside of his dormitory door - if he opens it there's a note: For protection. One use each. No promises. Miss Romanoff wanted to see if something could work, maybe if you tied it to an arrow? - William. Inside the bundle is a handful of wooden pieces with a rune drawn on them. One of them does have a small hole in it where string could be threaded through to be worn, if wanted. ]
[The unfortunate thing is that he kind of wishes he did get any new surprises lately. His voice still hasn't healed--or hasn't returned, or hasn't worked yet. He feels like the only recent surprise he's gotten has been Tony apologizing for misunderstanding the entire Narciso situation. Is that good or bad? Hard to say.]
I'm going to go ahead and assume this means you did. What happened?
[Nat had talked to Tony, mostly because she had a bigger suspicion that his assholeish tendency was based on a misunderstanding of the understanding than him being an even bigger asshole about consent. But it was a conversation she needed to have for her own peace of mind with the capabilities of his powers.
But the text makes her wonder if he's still not able to use his voice. Hmm. He's having a time of it.]
Woke up with glowing eyes. Heard Tony had horns. Wasn't sure if anyone else had any... surprises.
I just have the wiggly tats as a surprise still. [he says not knowing he'll get some more bullshit down the line] Can you control the glow? They do anything fancy for you?
Have you SEEN Tony lately? I'm waiting for him to sprout a whole pointy devil tail and turn red. Maybe he'll get hooves next. Some people have wings. Steve has scales like a lizard.
I mean I'm not happy that any of this is happening to any one of us. Just mean some of us are getting hit a lot harder than others. And some people aren't getting hit at all that I can see. Think there's any rhyme or reason behind it?
Strange said he has horns now when I talked to him yesterday. I think they’re trying to make me more one of them. I’ve seen the wings. My court is Dusk, so I don’t know if this is supposed to make me light up during sunset, but the feeling I’m getting between the off purple skin and glowing eyes is fairy…
My best guess is magic. I know Billy and Peter Parker haven’t been hit, yet. I don’t think they’re sparing kids, but Billy’s using his own magic, and I think Peter is just trying to do his own thing. It’s hard to say who gets hit and who doesn’t.
I’ve been learning with Billy—- looking into crystals. Sounds weird even coming from me, but I’m working on something.
I got your gift btw. Billiam said they're for protection? You want me to wear some runes around my neck and see what happens? Did you make any for yourself?
I actually have been trying to get a little magical protection and other minor effects from tattoos. New ones I got here. I'll have to show them off to you sometime. And you can blame Tony but in a good way.
Not entirely my idea. I’m working on something different for you. Kid’s working with what he’s got, and hey, if one of these runes catches something and stops it from doing something to you, you can him for it.
Yeah, he gave me a couple, too.
Blaming Tony but in a good way seems appropriate. You with more ink also seems appropriate.
Kid's looking out for us squishy normies. Warms my heart.
Hey beats blaming Tony for stupid shit he did. He apologized to me you know. I damn near had to beat it out of him what about. Typical. But sometimes he causes good things to happen. Guess there was a reason we kept him around.
He's a good kid. I told him we trained Wanda when she was first starting out. May not know about magic, but I've got his back if he needs someone. Might know a thing or two about complicated families.
Speaking of-- have you seen Yelena?
I'm not surprised he did. He can be an ass, but I didn't think he'd be so dense to not understand the concept of consent. He has a tendency go too far when he's onto something, but I'm still holding out hope we haven't lost all decency. [And honestly as far as sexist comments he'd gotten better over the years-- and out of two Tonys here, he's not the one constantly propositioning her. Though she has learned that the other version of Natasha and him have much more of a history there.]
I know Yelena's here. She said we're fine, and it isn't that I don't believe her, but I figured I still wasn't going to be the first face she wanted to see when spending time drinking fairy vodka. I'll say hi face to face eventually. Figuratively speaking.
Oh THAT bullshit. My roomie apparently shot Steve. A couple of times. So I feel like maybe I need to intensify her lessons some. (She did good from what I hear, she just needs to get better at calming down, finding her center, not panicking.)
You're going to judge me in a second but you know I'm a gentleman. Futaba's great if a really socially awkward teenager. She's extremely tech savvy and could be a frighteningly effective mix with Tony. She's more of a backliner, has abilities to boost the skills of others rather than be a fighter herself, but she's looking to change that, so I've been giving her lessons. Her and some of her buddies here are skilled at sneaking around and stealing which is not a bad skillset to have. She can summon up an honest to god UFO.
I don't really get that last part but it's handy anyway.
I don't disagree with what they're doing. She needs to practice with playing nice with her brain powers, and people need practice blocking people getting in their head. I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to sign my free real estate up though. I'm gonna start working with Strange about it.
She uses it? Lets her do some of the helpful stuff she does. I do NOT know how it works, but she likens everything to video games, so at least I understand the concept of buffs.
It's not.. that I'm uncomfortable. Not exactly. It only.. made me think about things. It's different when I'm in Yggdrasil. But here, you can touch me. You held me.
[ she makes a little noise, flustered. ]
Anyway, I thought.. well. You're here now, and I've no idea when you'll get to return to your home and your family, so. It seems unfair to avoid you simply because I'm feeling a little resentful of myself.
[There's a pause--maybe it's hesitation, perhaps more likely it's Clint moving somewhere further away from any potential prying ears, given the way his voice drops in volume. And in tone. There's a breath in, almost not there.]
[But dinner is-- Fuck it, he'll just say it.] But dinner is appropriate. [At least he sounds vaguely amused about it.] So it isn't a date. Only a colloquial date, not a date.
You ask all your awkward something-or-others to dinner?
[ in spite of herself, there's a little thrill that zips through her at the agreement. it is intimate. she hadn't been considering it in those terms when she'd asked, but--
well, the change in clint's tone, the way he'd asked if loki wanted him to touch her--
no. no, she's not thinking about this. it's out of the question. it's just dinner. ]
Tonight, then? We can meet in town if you like, and choose a place together.
[He has a lot of questions for Loki. Mostly variations of 'why are you doing this when you know it's kind of weird', and so forth. Could've been drinks. Could've been tea. Could've been hey can we hang out in the library and chat. Dinner? Dinner has implications. Does she not know that, or being willfully ignorant?
But Clint agreed. Where that leads from there is anyone's guess. He hems and haws over the wardrobe this self of his here is accumulating and knows it can't be the style any of them would prefer; it's just what's available. There's a couple modern pieces that must have come with. Mix and match, then. It's fine. He's not huffing about how to dress for something that isn't supposed to be a date. It's fine. Nothing's weird besides every single thing.
He's a little early, so sue him. Hasn't quite gotten his bearings yet, not sure what to trust if anything. But. He's trusting Loki with a lot more than just where to eat. Funny how he counts a god of lies among the few that wouldn't lie to him.]
[ it may look more like a date than either of them quite intended, truthfully. the click of heels on cobblestone is the first indication that she's arrived, but she steps into view a moment later. wearing black, curls pinned loosely at her nape with emeralds, and with emeralds in her ears, she's obviously trying to look as unruffled about this whole thing as she's pretending that she is. there's a twinge of anxiety in the slight curve of her painted mouth, though, even as she smiles at the sight of him. ]
Clint. [ she hesitates a moment, then reaches out, smoothing at an invisible wrinkle in the human's collar. ] There's a place I like a few streets away. [ mostly for the people-watching, but the food is fairly decent, too, when she bothers to eat at all. ] Nothing terribly unfamiliar by Midgardian standards.
[Of course she's gorgeous. She always is, except in the times she's deliberately trying to lay low. Even then, she's enchanting. It might be deliberate, or she might have just forgotten herself, but when she reaches out, all instinct in Clint says to take her hand and kiss the back of it.
If it aches to remember yet again that this is not the Loki he knows and that, actually, for something that is not a date, that is definitely not appropriate, he tries to hide that from his face. Maybe if he just pretends he was being polite to a lady. Ugh. Idiot.
He doesn't drop her hand like it's hot, but he does lower it, let go, shove his own hands into pockets.]
For all the things around here that are unfamiliar, there's a lot that isn't, too.
[ the kiss to her hand makes her flush, and she has to forcefully shapeshift the color in her face away to hide it. she's fine. this is just dinner with a.. semi-friend. they're going to have fascinating fae-food, watch strangers, and chat. that's all. clint is in love with another loki, and he's sort of.. married to them, and to his wife. this is just dinner.
still, she tucks her hand into the crook of his arm, allowing him to be her escort as she turns them down a street toward the restaurant in question. ]
Mm, the fae seem to have taken many cues over the years from Midgard and human culture. That's often part of the mythology, though, so I suppose I'm not surprised. [ her fingers press his arm gently. ] How are you managing?
Oh, y'know. I'm adaptable if nothing else. [It's strange to be in a body that's his but also distinctly not his. To be around people that know a different him. His roommate is a little teenage Japanese girl with moth antenna. Steve doesn't recognize him. It's fine. It's good. It's great.] Beats putting on a stupid outfit and jumping around anytime the Grandmaster tells me to do a flip.
[You know. Little things. He accepts the hand on his arm and the way he is not allowed to think of this Loki as his Loki, this is not 'Aunt Leah', and this is not a date (but what it is seems yet to be determined).]
Any particular reason for this shift, or you just felt like it today?
un: alibaba | sometime before the 6th for no reason at all whatsoever
don't freak out because nothing's going to happen alright? but in case something DOES happen... i'm really, really glad i got to have you as a roommate
you don't get to know which one he is atm bc neither do I
lol i wish but we don't kill 'em we just make them see the errors of their ways using force (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*.✧⋆˙⟡₊˚⊹♡
[ Which... She doesn't realize sounds vaguely like The Phantom Thieves Black Bag And Torture A Guy. ]
we're hoping for all of 'em, yeah the running hypothesis is that the castle itself is their palace so we should be able to do this as one big heist
[ Never mind the fact that she is pretty sure they all view their castle differently so she's not fully sure how that's gonna manifest when she presses the Metaverse Nav app she's been reprogramming to match up with the local energy signatures... ]
i'm going to point out how sus that sounds first because it sounds soooo sus
[ But okay. There's a brief pause in texts and it's not like this is anything monumental, but: ]
it's billy. like you already knew that or it felt like you did. but i can't pretend to be william anymore.
which i know sounds stupid and convoluted because it's just a name and it's still my name but if i go by william it feels like i have to be something i'm not.
[And, like, he was going to leave it at that, because people can change names or change how they want addressed, no big deal. But Wi--Billy has made it kind of a big deal before. Or. Y'know, a convoluted one.]
Sorry you feel like William is too complicated. You let me know anytime you want to go by something different. Did you not want to make it a whole announcement to everyone? Don't tell me you're texting everyone individually.
making a whole announcement sounds pretty silly and it feels weird when there's a whole other like me here it's part of why i went by william to make it less confusing for others? but it made me feel weird, too.
i'm not texting everyone though you were kind of the first person to know about the situation here so i wanted to tell you first figured for most people it'd come up when it came up?
Oh thanks. That's really sweet of you. I didn't realize I was the first to know any of this. I'm glad you could reach out to me about it. You can do that about anything if you need to. I don't exactly blab to everyone about what other people tell me.
You don't have to tell anyone why the change. You can always say William sounded too stuffy.
i didn't think you did. there's others that know and i kind of gave up a little cause the other billy will explain his situation and it's... super different but the reincarnation stuff still happens. and the whole fae putting names on doors things.
i don't want to hide it exactly. i just want to figure out who me is exactly without trying to be someone else
if i was doing that i would have put the name on me leaf as billy maximoff not william kaplan i'm still not doing that
but it does cause annoying questions especially when billy kaplan is on the one literally right next door i moved out of the castle so i don't have to super deal with that anymore
You moved out to the motel? Wild aesthetic choice but I know Steve's been spending a lot of time there so you're in good company. Or he was before everyone's brains got scrambled.
Some of our brains got scrambled, whatever you know what I mean
Who Steve? Yeah back when we all got here, he's got fire fingers. The hydra thing we were fighting I hear had poison that made memories go weird. And then rulers tried to fix things. "tried" to "fix" things It's complicated, I hope you didn't pick up anything fucked up from any of the mes who thought they were running around
You need any housewarming gifts? [At the end of the day! Maybe that's the important part! Ignore all the rest of that. Ignore it. Shh.]
[ said immediately after the awhile it takes clint to respond. and then there's a pause because ???? honestly there's two different dates it could be even ignoring the weirdness of reincarnation but we're settling on, ]
it's november 11th
which kind of but also not
[ he's not going to say he died on his birthday without prompting ]
[ there's actually a lot of feelings to unpack there. he didn't want clint to make a big deal out of the shop because it doesn't feel like his own thing. also, it feels weird to ask or expect anything of the avengers (yes, after nine months) and without his parents there, with life effectively on pause, it feels bad anyway. ]
[ that's what he tells himself and it's half a truth. the real one is what clint hits the nail on the head on: he doesn't think he should be. who he really is - billy - isn't someone he thinks should be. or did think. he's just stolen a life and hurt people. he shouldn't exist. ]
[ and yet. yet. this is shortly before his conversation with agatha so - no, he still thinks he shouldn't be. that hits home. seeing it in words. if it was another time not long from now he might type in an "i know". it's not so he doesn't and he stares at the words for too long a time. ]
[ he cries at some point, too, and he tells himself he's not sure why and then eventually he swallows everything back. and the text that comes back is a singular phrase that holds too much weight and not enough of an answer but he doesn't know what to say: ]
You are the absolute LAST person I wanna talk to right now
[ Too honest. ]
I know I am DEFINITELY the last pers
[ Too presumptive.
Okay, none of those are it. Delete everything. ]
Natasha needs help with a thing.
[ There. That's... Safe. And normal. ]
Trying to convert the Bites' batteries to something, y'know, ~magical~ and I need someone with electric powers to charge the crystals. So with Thor gone and all... Can I pretty pretty please borrow your tattoos for a bit?
[Look. He was not under any impression they were going to talk about it. The fact that there's any talking at all is a...pleasant? surprise?]
Don't know how much of a jolt you need but I can sure give it a try. I've picked up a shock ring, too. Might not be as powerful but apparently I've decided I'm doing double duty on the avenging front.
Going to move everything over there? At least you won't have to share.
[Is what he's going to say instead of anything else. It's fine. They aren't talking about anything. It's fine.
He makes it 25 minutes, for a little wiggle room. He won't be weird about anything if Tony isn't weird about anything (which means, ugh, it's going to get weird, isn't it), and he is just perfectly calm and relaxed and normal when he strides into Fort Asshole and the smithy so helpfully and conveniently built for them.]
Knock knock, I'm ready to try and pretend to be Thor.
[ Tony tries not to feel a bit insulted when he shows up at his new HQ at 21 minutes, 39 seconds with no company. Fine, it's fine. He did say to show up whenever.
He gets the door open and starts putting his armful of tools and materials and stuff-he'd-been-working-on with a few deep breaths, trying to keep his mind busy.
"Oh you're back to normal so we're knocking again?" is the joke that dies on Tony's tongue. ] Great. [ He says, trying not to sound stilted. ] I'll grab the- [ There's a vague hand gesture in the direction of a pile of rocks, some glowing crystals about the size of AA batteries that he fishes out of the pile among them.
He stares down at the floor slightly behind Clint after he turns around 'batteries' in hand. ] So. This is- I don't know what I'm doing, here, exactly. You know that. I'm not the magic guy. But. A bit of testing's taught me that you can charge one-a these bad boys with the same kinda magic as you want 'em to hold, and- That'll... Work. Some? How? [ His eyes flick over to Clint before he quickly glances back at the floor. ] Long as no one's losing a finger, I'll be happy. [ A beat goes by, but Tony doesn't even realize what he just said. ]
[Clint has questions, a few of them, primarily having to do with Tony's magic guy that is his boyfriend that is Strange, how if any of them might be able to figure out how exactly they work and why, it'd be the wizard in his wizard tower.
But. Tony is very distracting.
He's distracted and he's different and he's wrong and he's not quite...right. He's different in trying to seem not at all different. And then he makes the comment about losing a finger, and, sure, under literally any other circumstances, that would be a perfectly normal thing for an engineer to say, but under these circumstances--]
Jesus Christ, [quiet, soft, under his breath but audible.
Yeah. Tony doesn't know what he's doing here. (Un?)Fortunately, neither does Clint. Can they not know what they're doing together, maybe?]
No fingers for any collections. [Fine. He'll do it. He'll be the bad guy and mention it first.] Got it. Are you gonna stare into space the entire time, too?
Hahah... [ At the finger collection comment; the hand holding the crystals clenches into a fist at his side. And then there's something close to an accusation and some neural pathway lights up in a way it didn't used to. ] Huh? N-no, I-! [ There's a rising tone of panic in Tony's voice before he stops himself, inhales, exhales, and remembers who he is.
Tony sets the crystals down next to him on a table harder than he means to. None break, but it does make more of a sound than he expected it to. He doesn't jump, but he does come close. ] Do you want a drink? [ His gaze meets Clint's as he points at the archer before he points back at himself. ] I want a drink.
[ ...Let's all ignore the fact that it's mid-morning as he grabs a bottle of whiskey off the shelf, uncorks it, and takes a swig straight from the bottle before setting it down with a clack next to the crystals. ] Okay! [ Clap. ] I feel better.
Do you? [Feel better? Clint makes an approach, but slowly, cautiously. Until he's able to grab the bottle himself for a drink. Yeah. Christ. He'd like one at this rate.]
You're not...him anymore, right, Tony? You're the right you, in the right body?
[ He shrugs a shoulder at question number one. No, not especially, but at least he's got a bit of a buzz going now. Enough of one that he doesn't flinch away from Clint as he approaches, or lean closer to make the bottle exchange easier. Instead, Tony stays perfectly still, like Clint's a dinosaur who won't be able to see him if he does.
At the rest of the interrogation though... ] Oh, do not worry about a thing; I am me, myself, and I. [ Unfortunately so was he, the other him, in a twisted, weird sort of way. Tony inhales sharply. ] But as you might be experiencing yourself, it's a little hard to un-remember things.
[ Tony laughs; it sounds forced. ] Y'know I was a woman for a bit? I was really hot. [ There, subject change... ]
Tony grabs for the bottle again, forcing the tension out of his shoulders with a few steadying breaths and some shoulder rolls. ] Well, okay... More fun except for that brief period in the early 2000s when I was married. [ Wait for it. ] To Justin. [ Here it comes. ] Hammer.
[ He bursts out laughing a moment later. Ridiculous, and stupid, and why the fuck had she listened to Obadiah on having their companies 'show solidarity in these war torn times' will remain a mystery to him for the rest of his life. (Or would remain a mystery, if he wasn't painfully aware of the fact that when Obie said jump, he and she alike used to ask 'How high?')
As he lets out one last scoff, he feels more... Normal. Sort of. ] Honestly, and I hate to make this joke, I do. But somehow? Worse in bed than you. [ Hammer he means. Tony shrugs. ] Other you. Can't really judge you-you.
[Okay. That is better. That's Tony, sounding more Tony, and when he laughs, there's still a little force behind it but not nearly so much. Clint even joins in, because...holy shit, Justin Hammer?]
Ouch, that's awful. Tell me she dumped his ass? Tell me she was smart enough to realize she deserved better. [He plucks up one of the crystal batteries, holding it up to the light.] At least those Avengers had another woman on the team. Can't just say the girl one and everyone know who you're talking about.
[ Tony squints, tilts his head slightly, trying to think back to another self's memories. ] Yeah... Yeah, she dumped him right when she got back from Afghanistan. [ Well, after the whole Stane thing, she did. Better late than never. ] He was real broken up about it, which- Surprised to learn he swings that way. [ With a slight smile nostalgic for a life he didn't live, Tony chuckles. ] By the time we got Wanda and Vis on the team, the girl ones were threatening to overtake you guys depending on where Vision falls...
[ The crystal is a milky white, a slight twinkling glow moving within it like a lava lamp. ] Pretty, innit? [ Tony grabs a screwdriver and finishes tightening a few things on one of the adaptors he fashioned to hook the crystal up to the Widow Bites' power source. ] It's small, which means it's not gonna hold a charge for that long, but- [ He picks a bowl of salt water up off the floor and puts it on his workbench with a thunk. Then, he grabs the crystals, and drops them in the water. ] This allegedly helps? [ He gestures for Clint to hand over the crystal he's looking at. ]
[He drops the crystal in Tony's hand without risk of brushing skin. Besides, Tony never did like being handed things.]
You talk to your boyfriend about all this? I have to assume he had a hand in it, given you're not the magic guy. Even-- [He almost says William, but, they had that conversation, so...] Billy probably could help a good deal. He's got a natural aptitude for this stuff. The [spooky finger wiggle] magic stuff.
Yeah, he's been teachin' me some magic stuff in general. [ Tony says as he drops the last crystal in the purification bath. ] I'm trying to DIY a halfway point between what I already know and what I'm learning, and you know the magic people are all stuffy and all about tradition and shit, so... [ He wanted to attempt mostly doing this on his own, minus asking a few questions.
He mixes the water around with his index finger, swirling his finger clockwise 9 times. ]
Alright, so what we're gonna do, is you're gonna take these different crystals and charge 'em all with your zappy bullshit and I'll see which one likes the electric [ Spooky finger waggle. ] energy the best. Easy enough?
He's been trying to teach me the basics of keeping people out of my head. [If there is a look he gets at nothing in particular upon saying that, don't worry about it.
But this! Is more important! Because it's for Natasha, and also it's Tony reaching out in spite of himself. He reaches for a crystal, but then hesitates before he touches the water.] Is there anything else you have to do to them first, or can I start? I don't know if there's any good way for me to...regulate this, so hopefully I don't explode any of them.
[But when he's given the go ahead, he holds each in his right hand, pinched between fingers, and gives them a zap of lightning. It's hardly godly. It's just...like, taser fingers, man. But it's an experiment, so he'll zap away. His arm starts to get a little warm under the sleeves, feeling the lines of Thor's tattoo specifically down his arm. Nothing to worry about!!!]
Good. You badly need the help considering that's always how you end up in trouble. [ Tony comments with a fangy smirk and a raised eyebrow. He's not wrong. ]
Stephen's assured me none of them explode. [ He reassures before he leans closer to the bowl to watch. The submerged crystals all begin to glow faintly yellow, sparks dancing on their surfaces, as Clint charges them.
Tony stares for a moment before he glances up and then glances right back at the bowl. ] Holy shit, is this... Actually working? [ He doesn't mean to sound so, heh, shocked - he's just kind of impressed with himself that he's figured out how to do magical engineering. ]
And the real magic is that Clint's tat magic seems to actually be doing something useful here. He can see the effects. Wonders about overcharge, discharge, how much of a zap the bites are really going to be able to deliver, but it's something better than nothing, and Tony is impressed.
And fuck, he should be impressed. Magitech is nothing to sneeze at in terms of engineering prowess. At least in their universe. On their Earth.] Think you're outdoing yourself this time, old man. Pretty soon you'll be outforgeing the forgemaster and making magic swords and magic armor.
[ Tony gives him a look at the old man comment, but lets it go to grab one of the crystals just to see- ] Ow, fuck! [ And then promptly drops it back in the bath. He gives his hand a little shake for the pain before he looks at it. His palm's a red and angry, and his arm's a bit numb and tingly, but he'll live.
Hands on his hips as he looks at the bowl suspiciously, Tony's eyes flick around the room for- ] A-hah... [ He grabs a pair of tongs, instead, to extract the crystals from their bath. He lines them up on his workbench, from the faintest glow (a piece of tourmalinated quartz) to brightest (a citrine point) before he grabs his crystal-to-normal-battery adapters and pops the second faintest crystal (an amethyst) in using his tongs to manipulate it and install it in Natasha's left Bite, which he promptly puts on the bench and passes over to Clint. ] Here. [ A beat. ] Your aim's better. [ He explains. ] Hit me and I'll tell you how bad this hurts.
[It's all pretty fascinating. Makes sense that the crystals might be harder to handle, though seems like something that needs maybe a little bit worked on for later.
But at the request, he stares down at the Bite, face screwing up a little, and back up at Tony. Even if it's just a taser, that is a hell of a request to be making of him. Given the issues they aren't talking about.] I could also hit myself and tell you how bad it hurts.
I am so much more of a Justin O. Schmidt than you. [ Literally who, Tony? ] You lack a certain... Je ne sais quois. [ A beat. ] You know my descriptions of each one are gonna make it so much easier to differentiate between what's doing what.
[ Another beat, and Tony kind of sheepishly tacks on: ] Besides, I was dumb enough to bare-handed grab the thing and lived to tell the tale, so how much worse could you Bite-ing me be? [ Plus, this is no longer in the running for Top 20 Worst Things Clint Has Ever Done to Him at this point. But Tony is going to pointedly not point that out. ]
You have a heart condition, Tony. [Gosh, did someone ELSE ALSO remind him of this earlier???] I don't know that you should be getting tased at all. You know how guilty I'm gonna feel if I shock you and you bite it right here on the Avengers-sanctioned floor?
[Not that he's not gonna put on the fucking wristband thing with the fucking electroshock Bites.] How about I just punch you in the arm a couple times.
Look, if I die, I wake up tomorrow morning after a nice nap. [ A beat. Not the right tactic and he knows it. ] Mmmore importantly, we have a doctor upstairs in the creepy tower. [ Tony points at the ceiling of the blacksmith, but he's really pointing through it to where Strange's new office is, in an attempt to backpedal. ] And, I'll have you know, it takes 'bout... Half hour for a heart attack to cause permanent damage. You'd have time to save me if you didn't sit there feeling guilty.
[ Tony doesn't bother to hide the 'hah, told you so' smirk on his face as he sees Clint slip the wristband on. ] How about you quit bitchin' and start testin'?
Gonna remind you that I don't want to kill you even if it's temporary. Even if you're a fucking asshole sometimes.
[Did he ever get that window fixed? Maybe Tony should come find out--
No, shit, fine, god, okay. Quit bitching and start testing. There is literally a doctor in the house, so if something goes wrong physically or magically, he should be just a shout away. It's fine. It'll be fine.
Ow, fuck! [ Tony hisses, more out of reflex than actual pain, though a memory that isn't his plays out in his mind's eye: A shard of glass is dragged down his arm, just barely cutting him before he does it again, digging it in deeper... He clears his throat a second later. ] Mm. [ He contemplates. ] Fruity, effervescent, a bit sticky; like drinking juice from an unripe mango mixed with seltzer and rum... [ Truly Tony, what the fuck is wrong with you? ]
Think we can do better than that. [ He beckons Clint closer with his fingers while pulling the next brightest crystal over to him with his tongs. Normally, Tony would be grabbing at that wrist-mounted taser to immediately start dissembling and speed the process up, but- As his eyes brush over Clint's wrist, he decides against it, hand hovering in midair, paused on its way over. ]
Hey Tony? [Hey my GUY:] What the fuck. [that's what i'm SAYING-
But whatever helps him mentally categorize crystal zaps. He holds out his wrist and...waits...except that. Hm. Except that Tony does not seem to be interested, currently, in doing the thing.]
...You need me to pop the old one out so you can pop the new one in? [Is that?? it??]
[ A beat where Tony freezes. And then he snaps out of it, snapping his fingers and stepping closer like he's totally comfortable with this. ] Yes. Yeah, that'd be great.
[Or. Rather. If he needs Clint to not be here, he'll...go. He'll still fuss with the weapon, popping the crystal out of place and depositing the crystal as best as he can without directly touching it. (Look, it might still have a charge, and he doesn't think he's immune to a shock even if it originated from himself. No thanks! No thank you.)]
Tony sighs a moment later, a slight scowl on his face. ] Exposure therapy. [ A beat. ] The sooner I stop avoiding you, the sooner we get to put that shit behind us. Had to do it for the- [ Hole. He cuts himself off before he says it, not exactly wanting to compare Clint to... That. ] Had to do it before. [ Comes Tony's correction. Followed by a brief smile that someone could blink and miss.
He deposits the next crystal in the weapon, it slides in nice and easy like a syringe going into his arm and Tony wastes no time shutting the weapon back up for round two. He claps Clint on the shoulder with only a stutter of hesitation. ] You're up.
Didn't even know you were avoiding me. [Which he supposes is part of the point. Though he's not exactly a fan of exposure therapy involving being around him. Yeah, that version of him was really, deeply fucked up. Does that really make him scary?]
I get that you're the king of Not Talking About It. And in this case, I'm good with that. I just...don't want something neither of us actually did to fuck things up here. We do that enough ourselves.
Oooh, shit! [ Tony says as he's hit. Yeah, that's... Stronger. Owie. He takes a couple seconds to catch his breath. ] That's... WC Fields extinguishing a cigar on my tongue. Not terribly dissimilar from the feeling of shrapnel. [ To rate this particular crystal, first, while he comes up with the right answer to the rest of the... The Rest. ]
Wasn't avoiding you, really. Just... Busy. [ A beat. ] Wasn't exactly the worst time to get busy, though. [ Another beat, Tony lets out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. ] Anyway, no one's fucking anything up. You forgave me for the months of really awful Narsicko [ Thank you, Till. ] jokes.
So alternate me can forgive alternate you for wasting his booze. [ He says with an easy smirk, like that was the biggest sin. ]
[Mmmmmm forgave feels like a strong word, but, he does know that Tony wouldn't have been that kind of dick to him if he had actually realized what had actually happened. So it's also not an incorrect word.
Don't mind Clint looking particularly unimpressed. Clearly that's his default state.] The fact that shit got fixed like a day later didn't make alt me very happy. God forbid people experience starvation in the torture laboratory, I guess.
[But, y'know, more to the point:] I hope you're gonna write down these ratings in a way that other people can actually understand at some point. Feeling of shrapnel at least is... [Not, uh, not universal, but a lot more people are gonna understand it. He starts the process of carefully ejecting that crystal out to let Tony load the next one up.] Makes more sense to people generally.
Gonna convert it to numbers, don't worry. [ He reaches for the brightest one, the yellowish citrine point and pops it into place, faux-casually letting his fingers brush against Clint's hand as he takes a step back to get shot again. ] Last one was a 4. [ Tony explains. ] First one we tried was like a... 2-point-5? A pinch is point-5, the Bites are normally like a... Seven? [ He shrugs a shoulder. ]
I owe you a shitty decaf coffee one-a these days. For old time's sake.
We gotta get these bad boys up to at least a six if not a seven. You glutton for punishment.
[We are NOT. talking about shit-ass decaf coffee though. Clint decides you know what, maybe that's enough talking about it for now. Tony's even improving as they talk. Look at him, touching, even! They'll get over this hump.
[ Tony's halfway through a self-satisfied snicker when he's hit with this one. White-hot, electric pain shoots up his arm and he yelps once his nerves manage to register the sensation. He groans as the feeling works its way through his body, leaving an unpleasant numb tingle in its wake. ] Torture. I am chained in the flow of an active volcano. [ A beat, he laughs, the noise still slightly pained. ] Why did I agree to this?
[ But, right, numbers. ] Eight-point-five? Nine? Somewhere in that neighborhood. [ He exhales, it comes with another pained sound effect. ] Eugh...
[Clint jerks back a little in surprise, in concern, not realizing these were going to get that powerful. That Tony's still able to speak is at least a good sign.]
You wanna call it there, Stark? Still not looking to fry that brain of yours; it's the only part of you worth hanging onto. [Would they be them if they didn't verbally jab each other, really-]
Hah, good one... [ Tony grunts out. He's not exactly known for quitting while he's ahead, but- ] Think I can just- Pick that last one and call it a day. [ He forces out a laugh. ]
Lemme... [ Pant. ] Catch my breath... And I'll send you home with some citrine to get charged. [ Tony shrugs a shoulder from his doubled over position as he continues breathing heavily. ] Bring 'em back, y'know, whenever...
[Clint pulls off the gauntlet entirely, setting it on the table with a light toss as he comes over to Tony's side.] Sounds good, boss. You need me to call the doctor in the house? [He gets an arm around Tony's shoulders, a steadying hand on his arm.] At least sit down.
[ For the briefest of moments, every muscle in Tony's body tenses and freezes as Clint puts his arm around his shoulders.
An exhale later and Tony sags against that arm, letting it lead him to a bench. ] I'm fine, I'm fine- [ He protests even as he settles down to sit. Tony lets himself catch his breath for a minute, just breathing interspersed with the occasional promise that he's fine, really. But once he's not panting any more... ] Appreciate the help getting this done, Clint. [ A beat. ] No one else was answering my calls. [ Truthfully, he never had an alternate plan involving anyone else if this didn't work. But no one else has to know that. ]
[The moment is brief. But with Clint's hands on him, he can feel it. But. The moment passes. Tony lets himself get led. Sits. Breathes. Promises he's fine, which Clint pointedly ignores until he actually seems fine. Clint does not leave his side until that point.]
Pretty sure you could've gotten other people to help. I can't be the only one that's got taser fingers. [...Oh god, is he the only one right now with taser fingers?] But it's for Nat's sake, so. [He gives a little smirk, shake of his head, before he stands and makes to get this bitch a glass of water, god damn.] I'll only hang up on you if you're being truly an asshole.
Sssso... [ That damn stupid tongue of his. ] Always? You'll always hang up on me? [ He calls behind him with a weak laugh while Clint brings him that glass. But he knows, this time, he had an automatic in considering this was all to help out Natasha; no matter what an asshole he acted like, Clint would never say no to that.
Tony takes the glass eagerly, drinks down some water greedily, tamps down the needless urge to smash it on the ground and cut- He exhales a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and gingerly puts the glass down on the table before he runs hands through his hair. ...Or tries to, he bumps into the horns pretty quickly with a soft, frustrated groan. Not even allowed to be stressed the normal way anymore, fuck. Tony lets himself fall quiet. The magic ink in his tattooed arc reactor thrums not unlike the real one used to; a meditative, familiar feeling. ]
We're good. [ He says it about a few things: His magical electricity experiment, their weird shared delusion, and whatever happens here next. ] Thanks for your help.
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brandingproblem) wrote2025-03-24 12:12 pm
audio; un: eleven
[ She sounds excited. ]
I want to tell you news.
Over.
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[It's tempting to do the same, to be funny, except she would take that bit literally, and he doesn't want to confuse her.]
What's the news?
1/2
[ She sounds so proud. So ecstatic. ]
I'm a super hero now.
2/2
Over.
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But second and more importantly:] You talked to Tony. [That's not even a question, that's obvious, and he is so rubbing his eyes against the inevitable headache.] Did you show him what you can do?
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[ She tries to mimic Tony's tone when she says it. ]
I am welcome on the board.
[ Aboard, but shhh. ]
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He didn't say anything about putting it to a vote or asking the rest of his team about it, did he? [Or anything about the name, like, the B-Team, or, Revengers, or Youngervengers, anything, they can workshop it--]
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[ She shrugs, even though he can't see it. ]
We shook hands. He will make me a waffle iron.
[ The last part is completely irrelevant, but it makes her happy. ]
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[ she'ssounding firm, but there'sa tinge of upset creeping into her voice. ]
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I don't know what all you've gotten up to back home. I'm willing to bet it's a lot more than someone your age ever should've. I don't want you to feel like you're being used.
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[ her voice wavers for a moment. ]
Do you. Want me to be off the board? Don't lie.
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[But neither of those are happening anytime soon, so. He's quiet for a long moment save for a sigh, staring up at the sky as he weighs this.]
Not all of us get the choice. You got one. You made a choice. I respect that. [He doesn't think she has any idea what she agreed to. He has to wonder if Peter did when he went to fucking Germany.] Just don't be surprised if the rest of us get protective of you, okay?
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[ She blows out a breath. He can hear her footsteps - it sounds like she's pacing. There's a door slamming, but not close to her - she used her powers to do that. ]
You don't have... to be happy. But. We protect each other. Compromise. Halfway happy.
[ There's strain there, in her voice. She's upset, and getting the words out is becoming difficult. Takes more effort, more thought. She's not crying, she's just struggling with a barrage of emotions she can't parse, and hates that her mind is small, that it's a struggle to be understood, to be heard. ]
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And maybe it's resignation. If she's not "officially" an "Avenger", then the next time something happens, she's still liable to put herself into the situation, only then she'd be doing it herself, not with a team.
Partners, am I right?]
I'm bad at this part. I give people the chance in the moment, but if the moment isn't here, then they're just a bunch of kids until proven otherwise. It's a bad habit of mine. You should talk to Wanda about it sometime. ...Actually, you should talk to Wanda anyway. She can do a lot of the stuff you do and then some, but she does it differently. She knows things about emotions making your powers happen, too. [And apparently she's got some experience with kids also, but that's not a can of worms he wants to open right now.]
I hurt someone I got to care about because she wanted to help and be a hero, and I wouldn't let her. Until I came to realize we needed each other. That's Kate. She's not here, but if she ever gets brought here, she'll owe me a hefty 'told you so'. So maybe this is gonna be that all over again. Maybe I'm an old dog that's bad at learning new tricks. But there are things about being a hero that you gotta understand, and it's stuff that needs learned through doing.
I'm not mad at you. Okay?
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[ It's not a question. She remembers Hopper's words, too - that he wasn't mad, that he was just sorry. That he was scared to lose her, and that's why he kept her hidden away perhaps a bit too much.
Nothing ever happens.
Nothing ever happens, and you stay SAFE.
She thinks about saying goodbye to Mike, when she thought that destroying the Demogorgon would kill her, too. She doesn't think she should tell Clint about that. That like Natasha, she has an understand of self-sacrifice to save others.
She also remembers Mike and Lucas fighting when Mike wanted to include her in the party, and Lucas wasn't happy about it. They'd all made up later. Lucas is her friend now. But she doesn't want Clint and Tony to fight because of her. ]
If you don't want me. To be an Avenger. I will not be on the team.
[ Even if it's stupid. Even if she will be mad about it. Even if it will hurt. ]
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[A sigh, and he scrubs his face.]
It's hard for people to see it when they're young, but the idea of someone really young being in danger is really scary. Just because you can fight doesn't mean you should.
But I know you're gonna fight anyway. Cuz that's what you've learned to do. And you know you can. So. This isn't my decision to make. It's not my choice.
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[ That's soft, but honest. Eleven's grown attached. ]
I'm young, but I'm strong. And that's scary for you. But... you're old and weak. That's scary for me. [ Sorry, Clint, she doesn't mean that nearly half as mean as it sounds. She means 'grown up' as opposed to 'child' and 'no powers' as opposed to 'strong psychic and telekinetic abilities'. ] Back home. I could have.
[ She stops herself for a moment, and he will hear what sounds like a stifled sob. ]
I could have. Stayed with Kali. From the lab. To find people who hurt us. To kill. For Kali. For me. But my friends were in danger. So I went home. I don't choose to fight. I choose to protect. Myself. My friends. Laura. Erik. You.
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Okay. I'm glad that's what you did. [He's quiet. But calmer about it.] That's what an Avenger would do.
[He's going to leave the question of what that makes him after five years aside. Feels more like a former title these days as it is.]
Hey. Listen. I'm not your dad. I'm not your boss. I'm your friend, okay?
And I'm your teammate, now.
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Friends.
[ The watery little smile is audible. ]
Teammates. We protect each other.
[ Like him and Natasha.
Right? ]
un: iamironman
[ Tony fiddles with his new pen between his fingers for a few seconds before sending: ]
Open marriage, or what happens with the fairies stays with the fairies?
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As far as come ons go, that's definitely not your worst material. But I was hoping you'd at least bring you B game. Not even asking for A game here.
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No, I'm talking about His Royal Twinkiness.
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I'm taking your silence to mean you are, in fact, allergic to strawberries.
Don't worry, man, your secret's safe with me.
[ Bro code! Tony's lips are officially sealed. ]
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There's no secret. [WELL........]
Why are you even asking about him?
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[ The world's oldest profession and all that. Not judging! Value-neutral! ]
So what'd you trade for?
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Fine™️.
He would have preferred Clint to get something out of this arrangement, too, but like. Fine. Prostitution for a pen (or in general) is not everyone's idea of a good time. Tony gets it. Let the man live his life. ]
Duly noted.
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And what happens if Tony opens his fucking mouth about it to anyone else-]
There wasn't anything to trade. Did you trade?
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You know what I mean by talk.
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hisStrange's pen, clicking it a few times before he replies. ] Yeah, I meant to. [ Let's ignore the part where Narciso subtly threatened Peter, but mostly it was done without Tony under any kind of duress. ] My idea completely, actually. [ A lie, but one done to make his court ruler look like less of a hoe. Surely that would get him some points one of these days. ]no subject
[ read ]
[He doesn't even have anything judgemental to say about apparently trading sex for something wanted. Judgement-free zone or whatever. So long as Tony's good with whatever happened. It's fine.]
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[ He is going to shut the fuck up before he gets Clint to scale the tower again to kick his ass. ]
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un: iamironman
Can I ask you a potentially stupid question?
[ He doesn't wait for the no before sending: ] Do you have fangs by any chance?
Because I think sleeping with His Royal Twinkiness got me fangs. [ Don't even mention the tongue. ]
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I don't feel like anything's changed with me physically, if you think he fucked magic into you.
[WHICH IS ALSO A HORRIFYING THOUGHT that keeps him up sometimes (and he'll find out about that) (at some point) (just not yet)]
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[ And there's that theory dashed. Tony's trying to not let that get to him too much. ]
They really oughta kidnap a dentist next; I keep biting myself and it's fucking annoying. [ Quick, deflect with a joke. ]
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Yeah I KNOW how it sounds to ask the guy with the emotional availability of a garden snail if he's okay like I'm going to get an honest or straightforward answer but I'm doing it anyway.
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But yeah, I'm fine. [ Liar. ] I mean, I grew fangs and now I have a snake tongue, but besides that, yeah, I'm fine. [ Liar. ] In one piece still, and that's the important part.
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Really, I'm[ Ugh, fine. ]
Okay, fine, I'm a bit freaked out about the new body mods and how I got them, but I'll live if I don't bite through my tongue. Or tongues? Whatever.
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Get your teeth filed down? Magic might make them grow back the same though.
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Also have a feeling this is the universe's way of punishing me for being a dick and brainwashing people, so. Sorry for that. Maybe we save the weird fairy powers for structured training and emergencies in the future, eh?
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I thought I could find someone to help me get some mental fortitude about it. Build mundane defenses. Seems he's up and disappeared. How do you think Strange would be on a more magical front about it? Maybe make a charm of "get out of my head"?
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If you make me drop trou again I'm going to rip your snake tongue out.
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Not what I meant.
I meant my ✨magical✨ charm.
[ ...Wait. Fuck. ]
I mean, he resists the other charm too.
That's not NOT the case.
[ Gee, Tony, how come you're acting so weird? ]
Point is, trust me, talk to Stephen.
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It's his stupid fucking cheekbones and his shitty attitude.
Happy?
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[ He says it with "love in his heart" honest. ]
un: alibaba | shortly after akechi's birthday
i know you climbed out the window to do whatever you do when you climb out the window
but!
i need a (small) favor
Re: un: alibaba | shortly after akechi's birthday
I sometimes even use actual doors. What do you need?
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anyway
i wanna learn to throw stuff like you do
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By doing.
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i don't really have the same practice aiming at stuff that the rest of my friends do, yknow?
...
.......
...........and i don't think the pub is going to let me back in to put more holes in their furniture without adult supervision
(⌄︵⌄)
can i beg you for a lesson? or two?
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It would be hilarious if you could end up making some difficult shots that Akechi can't master yet. [Sure, frame it that way.]
What the hell, I'm already teaching people how to shoot bows. You want that too? Or just throwing?
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And while she did initially just want to learn how to throw darts better... ] you'd teach me how to shoot stuff?
really? [ She realizes she probably should learn some kind of method of defending herself. Especially considering the team is missing a few people, so when they go to change the court rulers' hearts, they'll need all the help they can get. ]
hm.
ok hanzo you're on!!
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Okay little bunny FuFu. All you need to do is bring yourself down to the range. I can let you borrow a bow and some things to throw.
That aren't knives
because the last thing we need is for you to cut yourself open trying to do some cool tricks
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∠(‘-‘ )
i'll be there
text; un: romanoff
[And look, she saw what he did after the king turned himself into mini versions of himself. Part of it is knowing that even if he's from some time after, she still remembers Ronan.
And then there's the other fact that despite being told that that what she did was worth it, that they reversed what he did, still seeing his face does bring out more that she would never say to Thanos himself, but that does shake her. She would make that same sacrifice again if she had to, a million times, if it meant the same outcome, but even just placing a moment of doubt in her head after the conversation she had with Tony of the mere chance of going home?
Well Nat's a little more shaken up than she would admit to anyone but Clint.]
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[Clint's avoiding the whole thing. He's going to try. He's already gotten into an argument with Tony about Tony thinking he can talk his way out/through/around this to get their causes temporarily aligned.
There's a well of patience and capacity for forgiveness, an understanding that everyone deserves a second chance, that Clint has within him. An ability to let grudges fall away before they get to solidify.
He's pretty sure none of that extends to the guy that made five years of his life hell and made him lose his best friend. So sue him if he's a little upset about this development.]
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[Sure, his size is formidable, but that’s not something Nat is worried about. Just his presence is an unnerving reminder. She feels it, and that’s why she wanted to message him, too.]
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What I want is to get up on that roof and take out his eyes with a good shot.
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Honestly he’s expecting it, and he wants to retaliate. I’m not say play nice, but I think he would involve the others if we attack him. He clearly has no issues with making a scene.
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He sits himself down talking about peace while also explaining how scary he is, and we're supposed to just sit back and do nothing? Stark wants to talk to him. Enemy of my enemy his ass. It's insane. I understand the tactics of it, but I still think it's insane.
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I think it should be done, and Tony is probably the best for it. We need to keep tabs on him. If the fae start changing him, giving him magic—- I don’t want to think about it, Clint.
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Billy wants to keep an eye on me, too. He told me who his parents are. That wasn’t something I was expecting.
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I have to rely on text and my meager ASL now btw.
Yay.
He's a good kid. Really wild story. I don't understand it in the slightest.
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He’s starting to open up. But it sounds complicated. Even for a Maximoff. Guess there’s a lot I’ve missed.
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Did anything happen to you after? [After. After she fell, after she died. Did she meet anyone, or go towards a light, or end up stored somewhere souls sacrificed to the fucking rock go, or anything? Or just end up here?]
I miss Wanda. She was here and now she's not.
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It was just dark. A whole lot of nothing. It felt like an eternity and a second. I just woke up in the middle of a fairy party. Found you not long after.
I spoke to Wanda right after I got here. It was good to see her. Sam’s here now. I ran into him, too. Barnes went home and came back. He actually formed some group with Yelena. Seems she’s trying to do more.
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I'm glad Yelena's getting some more friends besides my apprentice. I can hold a grudge on the big guy no problem, but I can't hold a grudge on her even if she did try to kill me.
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I don’t think anyone is going to fault your grudge there. But… she tried to kill you? Why??
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Well if that isn’t a punch right to the gut. Nat already has been feeling that guilt of knowing her choice meant leaving Yelena behind, but hearing the extent isn’t any easier.]
I’m sorry. I know Yelena can… feel things pretty heavy. And when she gets an idea—- she’s good at sticking to it.
I’m glad you worked it out.
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[Apparently she wanted to be more like Nat. Which really made her feel like a big sister moment.
And makes her miss her sister that much more.]
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I don't think I convinced her to do anything but accept I wasn't necessarily responsible for what happened to you. Still haven't quite convinced myself of it some days. Whatever she decided to do with her life after, that's all her.
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I wasn’t better. You had more to lose, and I wasn’t going to let you do that.
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Even Tony did.
text; un: eleven
[ Are you okay?
I'm sorry I've been quiet.
I miss you.
So. Yeah. She asks if he wants waffles, instead. ]
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Hey, neither has he. They're all busy and stupid here. And she should try to make nice with people more her own age, maybe.]
There is never a bad time for waffles. [and he will stand by that statement]
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yes. I will make so many waffles. we will eat them all. can you come over here?
[ Can you get where you're not supposed to be, Clint, CAN YOU. What an insulting question honestly, but in her defense, she hardly knows he's a Super Spy and all that. ]
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I'll be right over. Is your roommate around?
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no just me
we can have waffles in the blanket fort
adults aren't allowed but friends are
-> action
Anyway, no big deal for him to scoot over a tower and come up the steps and knock at the door like a normal person. Could he climb up the window? He could! But if he doesn't have to, stairs are his friend. Thank you, stairs.
When she opens the door, he waves. And just now it's striking him that being limited to his sign might actually...help them communicate. Not at risk of using big words, or too many words, or very unfamiliar words.]
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Eleven's face lights up when she sees him, small smile playing on her features. The truth is... a lot of people died and got hurt, and Laura lost people, and Erik lost people, and Eleven might have spied on her home and seen something that hurt her. She's coming out of the hurt she's been nursing. ]
Hi.
[ She's wearing horrifically clashing colours and patterns. Her hair is growing out into an utterly messy, untamed mop. But there are flowers in it, holding on for dear life. Eleven takes Clint's hand, gives it a small squeeze, and leads him to the blanket fort - a massive thing that dominates most of the room, and looks well put together. In fact, the metal frame holding it up looks very custom made.
In the blanket fort is.... what passes for a stack of waffles. Towering, and looking increasingly unstable, like it's going to topple any second now. And the waffles themselves? A fun mix of misshapen, burnt, not quite cooked through. There are dollops of what may or may not be whipped cream, as well as honey and fruit jam to act as syrup, and what looks like bits of fruit sprinkled all over like... well, sprinkles.
Eleven holds out a fork. Good luck, Clint. ]
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Just, like, waffles of varying states of doneness. And, ah, yeah, okay, that'll explain it. It's a pile of waffles in varying states of doneness. Some of them look...questionable, but others look perfectly edible. And if nothing else, eat around the ? bits to get at the good stuff.
The fort is cozy, and the fact that he fits inside it as well as he does means yeah, definitely an adult helped them with the design. The metal makes him think Tony. Would Tony bother helping make a frame for--yeah, actually, probably, with a lot of bottom lip wibbling and emotional guilt-tripping. He already made a wafflemaker.
So Clint takes the fort, signs his thanks, and starts from the precarious top lest the whole thing fall over before he's got a chance to dig in.]
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Because that's a normal thing for a 13 year old girl to want. Don't worry about it.
Whoever allowed Tony Stark to bond with and talk to a girl who has the power level and mental bandwidth of a tactical nuke should feel really bad, actually.
Eleven digs in to the tower, too. Unlike Clint, she does not eat around the bad parts. She just shoves large chunks of everything into her mouth like a feral little gremlin. Her eyes keep drifting to his hand. Huh. She imitates the gesture how he taught her. She thinks of Alicia, who can talk, but her throat is badly burnt so it hurts to do so. Quiet and sad and beautiful when she put flowers in Eleven's hair because Eleven bartered a visit to the blanket fort for flowers in her hair, and thus made a new friend. ]
I have a new friend. Alicia. [ She doesn't pronounce it the American way - but Ah-lee-see-yah. ] Talking hurts her. [ She keeps pondering for a moment. ] If she wants to. Would you teach? Her and me. Us. So we can talk. No voice. No pain.
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And then she asks after it but in a very different context, and it warms his heart. That she would like to teach someone who has trouble speaking, so it doesn't hurt.
He chews waffle thoughtfully. It's kinda gummy inside, not fully done, but serviceable enough. One of the better parts of this, he figures, is being able to talk with your mouth full. His hands start to move, and every word is understood in spite of a lack of knowledge back home. Maybe some fairy magic is alright.]
I'm still a student. I'm still learning. I'm not very good at it yet. [Some of his movements have evened out from this daily use as of late, but he's hardly what he would call fluent.] I can teach what I know.
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But she knows, from Papa, how transitional connections work. She wants to see Clint, so she offers food in the hopes he will join her. She wants flowers in her hair, so she offers time in the blanket fort in trade. Alicia has pain, Eleven sees a way to help, and tries to reach for it. She wants to learn, but does not ask for herself. She wants a friend, and tries to find reasons for Alicia to want to be her friend.
Because if 12 years in the lab have taught her anything it's that affection is tied to her use, and she's still struggling with unlearning that. Still thinks she needs to save her friends to have worth. Still thinks she needs to be a hero in order not to be seen as a monster.
Eleven shoves a big forkful of half-burnt waffles into her mouth, chewing as she watches Clint's hands move. She nods, accepting that. For a moment, she's quiet, then: ]
Words are hard.
[ When she's anxious, her speech patterns get progressively worse. She struggles with grammar and pronunciation so much more than she should at her age. She looks at Clint. Repeats the sign for 'thank you' again. ]
I like this. To talk.
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[Fully agreed. He hasn't regained the ability to use his voice ever since he died-but-not, and he's appreciating the idea of being better understood and being able to express words and thoughts and feelings and concepts all the more for it.
He motions to his ear, where his hearing aid is.] Hard to hear sometimes. Reading mouths is- [And what he wants to say is that it's a myth, but he has to work with a simpler, more reduced vocabulary. 'Lipreading is bullshit' doesn't fly very well here.] -a lie. It's really really hard. Sign is like reading. [Easier. If you know how to read it. Which, well, given the magic here, the reading isn't the hard part.
He motions then to his throat.] I got hurt in the water. I can't talk now.
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And then the kraken...
So many people...
Many people Eleven cares about. Her face twists up for a moment. She'd helped Laura get away, but other than that... Eleven feels like she failed at helping. After a moment, she blows out a breath. ]
You died. Erik, too. I didn't save people. Not a good Avenger.
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His mouth says hey, though it only comes out as a huff of air. Because his hands reach around the waffle mass to take her hands gently. Securely. To try and impress upon her his own seriousness when it comes to the blame game. His hands can't stay there, in order to talk to her, so they reluctantly pull away.]
You can't help everyone. Focus on what you can do. My friend is strong; he couldn't help. He feels bad. It wasn't his fault. [And sure, maybe there are some who can take on the whole of what happened, but they are few and far between.] Were you scared?
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The truth is, it takes everything not to just throw herself into a temper tantrum, a screaming match with her own frustrations that could wreck half the castle and then some.
Instead, after a moment, she blows out a harsh breath. ]
Yes. Water. Big monster. Bigger than the Demogorgon.
[ Upset makes her sentences shorter, more choppy. Her lips pull into something almost pouting, decidedly petulant. ]
Your friend. I'm stronger.
[ Does she know which friend he means? No. Is is true? She certainly thinks so. Does it matter? Absolutely not. She says it more because she wants to push back on something Clint says, but doesn't want to push on the things that he says that are kind and bring her comfort. In a way, even if she doesn't quite know it, being a little brat about something utterly not the point helps the roll of emotions not crash down over her. ]
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She at least tries to get through the tumult. Tries not to break down entirely, even if it means going around the issue to focus on something different. It isn't the point, but he's going to allow it for the moment, huff out some air in a laugh.]
I'd like to see the two of you fight. [Maybe not fight. Should he try to rephrase that? Mm, not a big deal, he thinks. The intention might come across just fine.
He makes a point of stabbing another waffle and holding it out to her. See? There's waffles. So things can't be the worst ever.]
It's okay to be scared.
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Mouth half-full and cheeks puffed out, she eventually says: ]
I'm not... scared of much. Water. [ She thinks, then amends: ] Under the water. Small, dark room. Papa.
[ Monsters not so much - they are scary, but don't inherently scare her. But she's not sure how to explain that. Some more chewing, then: ]
I fought Thor. [ Eleven seems very proud of that. ] But. He scared me. Electric hammer. I can fight your friend. I'll be careful to not hurt him.
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He gives another laugh, though, at the idea of Thor scaring a kid. Thor? Sorry, Thor, scaring the psychic child.] Thor is a teddy bear. Big hugs. Very funny. [But maybe having a lightning hammer used against you can be scary. Sparring with Thor was never an easy time.] Steve is very strong. He has a- [...Hmmmm.] -s-h-i-e-l-d to help him too.
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We... fought. Because he said I'm not stronger than him. I kept him from flying.
[ She holds up her hand, palm out the way he's seen her use her power - she used them to ground Thor. It was a strain, and she wouldn't have been able to do it indefinitely - but for a moment there, she'd kept him from moving at all, even if it was hard. ]
He called... lightning. I'm not scared. But... the hammer. He moved to me, and the hammer made sparks.
[ Her eyes skitter away for a moment. Then she looks up at Clint, lowers her voice like she's telling a secret. ]
The lab. Collars with sparks, sometimes. The guards have. Sticks with sparks.
[ She makes her index and middle finger stiff, leans over and pokes them lightly against Clint's ribs. Like a cattle prod. ]
So. I got scared. Thor was kind, then. He hugged me. Until I wasn't scared anymore.
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Clint scoots closer in beside her and throws an arm around her. Thor would be kind to a scared child once he knew the sparring wasn't enjoyable. He would. Thor's good people, and Clint is not going to just let this go without giving her a hug, too.
It makes him so furious he's surprised he doesn't spontaneously magically have the ability to spit fire.] That shouldn't happen. [The shocks. To kids.] I'm sorry.
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It's okay. I'm out.
[ Not free - neither at home nor here. But... out of the lab. ]
I can grow my hair. I have friends. I learn.
[ And she wraps her arms around him - as if she's the one offering comfort to Clint now, not the other way around. It's okay, she says, and hugs him tight. ]
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But she's somewhere better than she was. So that's something. It's not okay, but it's better. And that's a good place to start. She mentions her hair, and he'd like to offer to brush it, but there are flowers tucked in it, placed with care. By a friend. Okay. He can take a breath and squeeze her tight.
They'll protect each other like a team.]
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I make you sad.
[ She pulls back further, not to get away, just give him room to sign and so that she can actually see his hands. ]
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[She is bright and beautiful and wonderful and makes him both confused and happy, makes him alarmed and tired in a way that's familiar when dealing with kids.]
It shouldn't happen to anyone.
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It's what adults she trusts do to her for comfort and affection. So it's what she does to Clint now. ]
Kali escaped. She was 008. Older than me. Didn't grow up in the lab. The last few years, it was just... me.
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Did she already have a name before she was 008? [Since she didn't grow up in the lab. Kidnapped off the street and experimented on?]
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Yes. Kali Prasad. I saw... a newspaper. In Hopper's files. 'Vanished - Indian Girl Missing in London'. [ She quotes the headline, mispronouncing it like Indy Anne and Lonn Donn. ] Last seen July 12. 1969. [ She says Nineteen-Six-Nine. ] She was... 5.
[ She'd taken that newspaper clipping when she ran away from Hawkins, and read it over and over again. ]
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Why?
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I was meant to spy. And I was supposed to learn... remote assassination. [ The official reason for everything Hawkins Lab did before she found the monster. That Papa had motives related to the Upside Down long before she became aware of its existence... well. That's beyond her understanding. At any rate... ] I don't... remember the others. The children. Just... doors. Empty rooms. Something... happened. In the Rainbow Room. I don't remember.
[ She fidgets. ]
Kali has. Different powers. She puts images in your head. They're... not real.
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Puts in memories? Thoughts? Makes you see things? ['Rewire someone into a different person' is a different skillset than 'make you hallucinate', but what the hell does he know. He also has no idea how to say 'induce hallucinations or brainwash a new personality' in ASL, so this is simpler.]
Were you all special in the same way?
[Was it just hearsay, stories about kids with strange mental abilities, or was there a genetic marker being looked for, or exposure to some chemical or phenomenon-? Is that important? Maybe not in this moment. But it's more information about what El's up against back home and why.]
un: iamironman
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I am a shocked pikachu .jpg
What'd you do now?
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I just apologize, in general, for being an asshole, in general.
[ Nailed it. ]
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That's so specifically nonspecific what did you do?
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But I AM sorry if I ever took anything I said too far.
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Look we both said things while high as kites. Whatever you said that was so egregious, I'm sure it's nothing but water under the bridge.
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[ Tony what are you even trying to do. ]
just
never mind
point is, i owe you a tattoo
[ And the king was owed a damn good punch in the face. ]
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Are you okay?
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Oh don't worry about me, I'm fine.
Are YOU okay?
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Do I need to come find you?
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RELAX. I'm not about to shoot myself in the head with one of my gauntlets, it's fine.
Unless you WANNA come find me, I guess?
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[Which is just that. It's all Tony gets. Clint decides he needs to send Steve a text first, and when Steve suggests talking to Strange, he sends him a text, too.
Yeah, this is going to be a Thing.]
-> action
Don't be weird, Tony. Just be alive and be, like, normal or something. Clint won't even be sneaky about it! Just full on approach and a wave. Do not! be weird! about things!]
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[ He goes back to the homemade bullets he's fiddling with for a bit, occasionally looking up almost suspiciously at Barton. ] You... Good? You okay? [ Because Tony sure as fuck does not know how to do this not at all awkwardly. ]
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I'm still as okay as I was the last time you asked. [Granted, Clint didn't really answer, but that's because he was worried what the fuck was happening with Tony. He spreads his hands.] Look. I wasn't gonna ask. [...Well-] I was going to, and then I got talked out of it. I figured we could talk some shop about making me some specialized arrows like I used to have back home.
[His hands drop.] But if you're gonna keep being weird about it, I can just start with the thing you're dancing around instead.
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[ But at the mention of magic arrows, Tony pauses mid-jotting down a note of what he should work on building. ] Bet Strange'd be happy to help you out with the oomph. [ A beat. ] Ooooh...
[ He gets up from his bench holds up an index finger to tell Clint to give him a second. Then he takes a few breaths before he does a weird hand motion, one of Strange's shields appearing on each of Tony's hands. ...For about five seconds before fizzling out. ] Shield arrow would be pretty cool, you gotta admit. [ Or, fuck, portal arrow, if he could figure out how to get the sling ring's magic to integrate with something else... ]
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Pretty cool, just not sure what I'd do with it. Smack someone with a resounding gong? I can dabble with the experts about what kind of shit I could pull without having to clap my hands, turn around three times, and spit or whatever.
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He picks at a couple things in his workspace that he'll probably be able to turn into a grapple arrow, grabs some parchment and a pen and gets to work designing. ] C'mere. [ Considering it didn't seem like Clint was in any particular hurry to leave. ] What d'ya think? [ It was a bit more overly complicated and steampunk-y than normal, and the materials would definitely not be as high quality, but- It was a start. ]
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I think we got the start of something we can work with here. [Just to ease back from the teasing to the actual meat and potatoes of work.] We don't need complicated. Honestly, if you just make a grappling hook that fits on an arrow, I can do the rest with some rope, but we can try and be a little more professional. I've got my very own blacksmith on call, right? [He shoulders Tony playfully.]
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[ Tony playfully elbows him back. ] You've always had your own blacksmith on call, I just used to go by somethin' different. [ There's a smirk on his face when he follows it up with. ] But I'm the Metal Whisperer, now, don'tcha know.
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[He scrunches his face at the name. What. Tony.] No, you're definitely not. You might as well stay Iron Man if you're gonna have a blacksmith-y nickname. It's still so useful and evocative. Hey, you think the fairies have ever heard any Black Sabbath? [Someone get thee some bards and form a metal band. C'mon. Surely they can figure it out.
And of course it's right in the middle of the cajoling that he has to hit Tony over the head with the whammy:] I don't forgive you, you know. [And don't worry, he's going to let that sink in for a beat or three. For what it's worth, Clint doesn't look mad or upset or anything other than still kind of having a smile about Iron Man, actually. He shrugs a shoulder.] Or guess it's really more that I can't, I s'pose. Can't forgive you for something if I don't know what I'm forgiving.
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Aaaand then his face falls. And keeps falling. Until Clint gets done with his explanation that he can't decipher what Tony's weird behavior is about. Okay that's- Doable. Tony can do this. ] Just- Apologizing for busting your balls so much, man. [ His too loud laugh probably makes it clear that he doesn't know how much more detail he needs to give to make this clear. He takes a big breath, and decides to just- Go for it. ] About... The king, I mean.
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That's a turnaround for you. Given how much you were enjoying bringing that up at real inconvenient moments. What, you do another trade with him and decide he rubbed you the wrong way?
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Assholeassholeassholeasshole. Dickheaddickheaddickheaddickhead. ]
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You fucking-- [misread the situation??? what- how the hell did-] This entire time, you really thought I-- [was boyfriends with king fuckface, king of the fuckfaces???
Clint runs a hand over his face, then back through his hair, turns and takes a few paces away, turns and comes right back. Opens his mouth like he's going to start shouting, closes it again. Looks around, grabs Tony by the arm, drags him to a quieter corner and keeps his voice low.]
Just so we're crystal clear, do you understand the situation now? Are you sure?
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You're damn right. [--he lets go. Shoves his hands in his pockets and looks somewhere between furious and panicky.] How'd you figure that one out?
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[Actually just stop saying words, genuinely shut the fuck up, Do Not Open Your Mouth Further, though whether Tony listens to that or not is entirely up to Tony. And Tony's unfortunate impulses.
Take a breath. Nice and deep through the nose.]
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Tony. Because you're my friend. You have said and done some pretty horrible stuff to your friends before, but I'd like to think that if you hadn't misread the situation? That some of the things that came out of your mouth would not have come out. I'd like to think that you would have gotten really awkward and quiet and then said something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic. So I guess this is kind of that, just really belatedly.
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After a long, pregnant pause, he tacks on: ] Do you want me to say something else stupid and unfortunate to change the topic...? [ Because Tony would really like to do that right about now. ]
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When he comes back to normal, he sighs heavily, shoulders doing a sag.] Yeah, actually, that'd be great.
un: alibaba
1) would you teach a robot sign language?
he can't talk and you're the expert
and this one is way more important
dare i say... super important
2) do you want the super soldier mountain dew?
because your idiot friend thinks you definitely don't even though it TOTALLY saved him when i shot him (accidentally...) which seems completely unfair!!!
sentai logic dictates you ALL have to be evenly matched!!!!!!
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There is no super serum here. Nobody can recreate it. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SHOT HIM
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fuck you i guess
[ She kinda already promised the robot she'd get him help, sorry Clint! ]
I DIDN'T MEAN TO, JEEZ
it was at the party
he was hooked up to one of the targets
i SWEAR i healed him after
your bf's FINE
just a jerk who won't give you a blood transfusion for like literally zero reason at all
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Oh shit yeah okay then you couldn't have done anything about it. Did you do okay? I mean you hit him obviously you weren't perfect, but nobody expects perfection from a beginner.
And I don't need a blood transfusion. God I know we have some doctors here but I don't know that I'd trust anything fairy with something like that anyway.
And not sure it works that way. [we could find out it works that way if we fucking let patriot be a fucking thing kevin]
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i did okay!
didn't hit anything vital when i did hit him, and i missed him completely a couple times too
you're a good teacher
which i told him
well you could just test it to see if it works that way, couldn't you?
what blood types are you guys?
i bet you're B
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What is your deal
I promise being super soldier would not have saved my stupid ass.
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1/2
It doesn't make him stupid either just because he couldn't do anything about it.
2/2
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why?
r u keeping it a secret?
[ Steve did basically say he was the leader of the Avengers... Maybe it wouldn't look good to the others?
.......................Maybe she was a little suspect of that power dynamic, actually. ]
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[BC SHE'S JUST MAKING A JOKE RIGHT]
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uh huh
don't worry
i won't tell the group chat
[ But that's fine. This is her new side quest clearly. ]
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JEEEEEEEEEZ
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What did he tell you?
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Been fine all my life without it. You think I need it?
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but
wouldn't it be nice?
with all the stuff you can already do without any kind of superpower, you'd be like. unstoppable with actual powers...
...but i guess god had to nerf you somehow
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Rest assured, a lot of people want it, and that's caused so many problems.]
So you've met Steve. He's big, he's got muscles like a god, he's got that corn chip shape that women swoon over.
Before he got dosed up with super juice? Tiny. Skinny as a twig. A strong wind could've knocked him over. Sickly as anything, I don't actually know how he survived as long as he did. Tenacity? Sheer stupid stubbornness? I mean by all accounts he was TINY.
I can only imagine what that might do to ME.
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well he sure can't get knocked over by a strong wind anymore
[ Considering she shoved him hard and he didn't even move. ]
mm
i guess you ARE already too tall
fine
you don't have to be a super soldier
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Look I appreciate what you're trying to say. I don't know how valid a point it is to even think about if it's not a viable option anyway. [is it a viable option though?????] Also let's just consider the idea that turning my friend into a blood bank to microwave superness into anyone who wanted it is a very scary and fucked up idea.
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he deserves it for how he treats youi MEAN i wasn't suggesting ANYone gets superness
just you
but
...wait i can't tell if the microwaving part is a joke
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so
radiation can give people superpowers in your world?
that's kinda stupid
like
how'd that even get figured out?
who would volunteer to do THAT?
what if it didn't work and it gave you cancer instead??
i changed my mind
don't get superpowers
archery is much cooler
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Or the spider kid!
Anyway it was WWII and the serum was from a German scientist who defected and needed to find someone fitting to experiment and it was Steve. Don't worry about it, ask him for the story if you're interested. And maybe you are?
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and who's bruce?
i might be interested enough to text him
[ But, ugh, talking to Steve again... ]
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Bruce is on my team. If you've ever seen a guy who is huge and angry and green, that's Bruce's other half.
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oh you guys have a persona?? user????
or is it more like that other guy in our court - nahobino - who has something kinda sorta similar to a persona? but it's actually totally different??
also wait why is he a spider if he doesn't look like a spider?
[ You Americans are all high key insane. ]
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that I do not know what a persona user is
He has spider powers, he just doesn't look like one.
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right
you know the ufo i summon?
al azif??
that's my persona
[ Yes, they have a name. ]
...does spider kid have a name?
action, delivery
voice; un: romanoff
You get any new surprises lately?
text
I'm going to go ahead and assume this means you did.
What happened?
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But the text makes her wonder if he's still not able to use his voice. Hmm. He's having a time of it.]
Woke up with glowing eyes.
Heard Tony had horns.
Wasn't sure if anyone else had any... surprises.
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Can you control the glow? They do anything fancy for you?
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I just need to find a good pair of shades.
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oh no
Or masquerades with you
Etc etc
Are you okay?
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Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just starting to look… real ethereal.
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I mean I'm not happy that any of this is happening to any one of us. Just mean some of us are getting hit a lot harder than others. And some people aren't getting hit at all that I can see. Think there's any rhyme or reason behind it?
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My best guess is magic. I know Billy and Peter Parker haven’t been hit, yet. I don’t think they’re sparing kids, but Billy’s using his own magic, and I think Peter is just trying to do his own thing. It’s hard to say who gets hit and who doesn’t.
I’ve been learning with Billy—- looking into crystals. Sounds weird even coming from me, but I’m working on something.
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I actually have been trying to get a little magical protection and other minor effects from tattoos. New ones I got here. I'll have to show them off to you sometime. And you can blame Tony but in a good way.
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Yeah, he gave me a couple, too.
Blaming Tony but in a good way seems appropriate. You with more ink also seems appropriate.
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Hey beats blaming Tony for stupid shit he did. He apologized to me you know. I damn near had to beat it out of him what about. Typical. But sometimes he causes good things to happen. Guess there was a reason we kept him around.
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Speaking of-- have you seen Yelena?
I'm not surprised he did. He can be an ass, but I didn't think he'd be so dense to not understand the concept of consent. He has a tendency go too far when he's onto something, but I'm still holding out hope we haven't lost all decency. [And honestly as far as sexist comments he'd gotten better over the years-- and out of two Tonys here, he's not the one constantly propositioning her. Though she has learned that the other version of Natasha and him have much more of a history there.]
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[Which honestly fits for a family reunion with them.]
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[Look, he's not wrong.]
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Who's your roommate? Sounds like a good person to have on our side.
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You're going to judge me in a second but you know I'm a gentleman. Futaba's great if a really socially awkward teenager. She's extremely tech savvy and could be a frighteningly effective mix with Tony. She's more of a backliner, has abilities to boost the skills of others rather than be a fighter herself, but she's looking to change that, so I've been giving her lessons. Her and some of her buddies here are skilled at sneaking around and stealing which is not a bad skillset to have. She can summon up an honest to god UFO.
I don't really get that last part but it's handy anyway.
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Like the ship? Or an alien?
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Which yeah that isn't fair of me to say in retrospect. [Tony did have a kid. She's cute. She's gonna grow up okay.]
Ship. Like straight up classic flying saucer. Only it also has tentacles, and I'm a little concerned what she's looked at on the internet before.
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Huh. Interesting. Is it like... a distraction? Or does it do something?
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She uses it? Lets her do some of the helpful stuff she does. I do NOT know how it works, but she likens everything to video games, so at least I understand the concept of buffs.
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Huh. It’s interesting what people not from our home can do. Or home adjacent if you count the universes that aren’t ours but are similar.
audio | un: variant
Are you.. still the Clint that I spoke with earlier this week..? [ a slightly embarrassed pause. ] If so, would you like to have dinner with me?
.. If you're not, kindly ignore this.
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[ she makes a little noise, flustered. ]
Anyway, I thought.. well. You're here now, and I've no idea when you'll get to return to your home and your family, so. It seems unfair to avoid you simply because I'm feeling a little resentful of myself.
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Do you want me to touch you, Loki?
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yes.
damn. ]
I don't think it would be.. appropriate. [ not that she's ever cared about propriety before, but.. this is different. ]
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You ask all your awkward something-or-others to dinner?
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If you're not interested, we don't have to.
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Didn't say that. Dinner would be nice. Especially with someone familiar. Or who looks familiar, anyway.
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well, the change in clint's tone, the way he'd asked if loki wanted him to touch her--
no. no, she's not thinking about this. it's out of the question. it's just dinner. ]
Tonight, then? We can meet in town if you like, and choose a place together.
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-> action
But Clint agreed. Where that leads from there is anyone's guess. He hems and haws over the wardrobe this self of his here is accumulating and knows it can't be the style any of them would prefer; it's just what's available. There's a couple modern pieces that must have come with. Mix and match, then. It's fine. He's not huffing about how to dress for something that isn't supposed to be a date. It's fine. Nothing's weird besides every single thing.
He's a little early, so sue him. Hasn't quite gotten his bearings yet, not sure what to trust if anything. But. He's trusting Loki with a lot more than just where to eat. Funny how he counts a god of lies among the few that wouldn't lie to him.]
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Clint. [ she hesitates a moment, then reaches out, smoothing at an invisible wrinkle in the human's collar. ] There's a place I like a few streets away. [ mostly for the people-watching, but the food is fairly decent, too, when she bothers to eat at all. ] Nothing terribly unfamiliar by Midgardian standards.
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If it aches to remember yet again that this is not the Loki he knows and that, actually, for something that is not a date, that is definitely not appropriate, he tries to hide that from his face. Maybe if he just pretends he was being polite to a lady. Ugh. Idiot.
He doesn't drop her hand like it's hot, but he does lower it, let go, shove his own hands into pockets.]
For all the things around here that are unfamiliar, there's a lot that isn't, too.
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still, she tucks her hand into the crook of his arm, allowing him to be her escort as she turns them down a street toward the restaurant in question. ]
Mm, the fae seem to have taken many cues over the years from Midgard and human culture. That's often part of the mythology, though, so I suppose I'm not surprised. [ her fingers press his arm gently. ] How are you managing?
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[You know. Little things. He accepts the hand on his arm and the way he is not allowed to think of this Loki as his Loki, this is not 'Aunt Leah', and this is not a date (but what it is seems yet to be determined).]
Any particular reason for this shift, or you just felt like it today?
un: alibaba | sometime before the 6th for no reason at all whatsoever
don't freak out
because nothing's going to happen
alright?
but in case something DOES happen...
i'm really, really glad i got to have you as a roommate
you don't get to know which one he is atm bc neither do I
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but it's nothing you need to be worried about
i just
wanted to tell you that
first
before we finish the something
just in case
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the same one where i trust that you know what you're doing?
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ok fine
FINE
you win,
cuntclintf {[&f](int i){
// lock
}},
dummy((f(3), nullptr));
this is extra encrypted so no one can hack into your phone and figure out what we're doing remotely
but i need you to PROMISE you're not gonna try and stop us
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Hit me.
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[ Yeah, sure, like it's that simple. ]
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My vote is salami
[IS HE SHITPOSTING OR-]
All of them?
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but we don't kill 'em
we just make them see the errors of their ways
using force
(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*.✧⋆˙⟡₊˚⊹♡
[ Which... She doesn't realize sounds vaguely like The Phantom Thieves Black Bag And Torture A Guy. ]
we're hoping for all of 'em, yeah
the running hypothesis is that the castle itself is their palace
so we should be able to do this as one big heist
[ Never mind the fact that she is pretty sure they all view their castle differently so she's not fully sure how that's gonna manifest when she presses the Metaverse Nav app she's been reprogramming to match up with the local energy signatures... ]
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...
well
until they're supposed to know we're there
LOOK
it's gonna be FINE
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it's gonna be fine
we've done this like practically 10 times already!!!
un: crafcrazy17, text ; if he's still au'd than the 15th
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What do you need?
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no back up
should i be worried you did something???
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Unless it was a different me.
Which wasn't ME me.
Let's make this about YOU you?
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because it sounds soooo sus
[ But okay. There's a brief pause in texts and it's not like this is anything monumental, but: ]
it's billy.
like you already knew that or it felt like you did.
but i can't pretend to be william anymore.
which i know sounds stupid and convoluted because it's just a name and it's still my name but if i go by william it feels like i have to be something i'm not.
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[And, like, he was going to leave it at that, because people can change names or change how they want addressed, no big deal. But Wi--Billy has made it kind of a big deal before. Or. Y'know, a convoluted one.]
Sorry you feel like William is too complicated. You let me know anytime you want to go by something different.
Did you not want to make it a whole announcement to everyone? Don't tell me you're texting everyone individually.
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making a whole announcement sounds pretty silly
and it feels weird when there's a whole other like me here
it's part of why i went by william to make it less confusing for others? but it made me feel weird, too.
i'm not texting everyone though
you were kind of the first person to know about the situation here
so i wanted to tell you first
figured for most people it'd come up when it came up?
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Oh thanks. That's really sweet of you. I didn't realize I was the first to know any of this.
I'm glad you could reach out to me about it. You can do that about anything if you need to. I don't exactly blab to everyone about what other people tell me.
You don't have to tell anyone why the change. You can always say William sounded too stuffy.
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get dad feelings idiotokay no that's mean ]i didn't think you did.
there's others that know and i kind of gave up a little cause the other billy will explain his situation and it's... super different but the reincarnation stuff still happens.
and the whole fae putting names on doors things.
i don't want to hide it exactly.
i just want to figure out who me is exactly without trying to be someone else
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[He knows it's not that, but also teenagers are sensitive, okay!]
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i'm still not doing that
but it does cause annoying questions especially when billy kaplan is on the one literally right next door
i moved out of the castle so i don't have to super deal with that anymore
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Some of our brains got scrambled, whatever you know what I mean
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[ there's a moment of hesitation he might just leave it at 'no' but clint wins the diceroll ]
brain scrambling thing
he decided to take a deal with a court ruler?
honestly it's not a bad one at all
and it's a shop and apartment thing
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The hydra thing we were fighting I hear had poison that made memories go weird. And then rulers tried to fix things.
"tried" to "fix" things
It's complicated, I hope you didn't pick up anything fucked up from any of the mes who thought they were running around
You need any housewarming gifts? [At the end of the day! Maybe that's the important part! Ignore all the rest of that. Ignore it. Shh.]
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wait
he made a deal for fire fingers???
and yeah i know all about the hydra stuff
since i was switched and everything too
p sure he didn't see you around though
[ he's not going to say he died though. and also that the other him was too busy trying to rearrange his life nope ]
no i'll be okay but thanks
you can always drop by whenever
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He hasn't shown it off for a while don't worry about it
Oh good. I mean sucks. But good. At least we're all back to relative normal whatever that means.
Maybe I'll get you something nice as thanks for the runes.
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suddenly slightly worried about it tbh
🤔 no offense but i think anyone here was ever relatively normal
and you don't have to do that
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Also when
[Yeah, he hit send, but that last part is definitely something he should've deleted. There is a lot of [...] for like. A concerning amount of time.]
Is asking after your birthday a landmine?
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[ said immediately after the awhile it takes clint to respond. and then there's a pause because ???? honestly there's two different dates it could be even ignoring the weirdness of reincarnation but we're settling on, ]
it's november 11th
which kind of but also not
[ he's not going to say he died on his birthday without prompting ]
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You're allowed to be celebrated.
1/2
[ honestly. ]
[ it gets a read checkmark for a very, very long time. ]
[ and then he starts typing and it stops. ]
[ and it goes back to read. ]
[ for an even longer time ]
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[ that's what he tells himself and it's half a truth. the real one is what clint hits the nail on the head on: he doesn't think he should be. who he really is - billy - isn't someone he thinks should be. or did think. he's just stolen a life and hurt people. he shouldn't exist. ]
[ and yet. yet. this is shortly before his conversation with agatha so - no, he still thinks he shouldn't be. that hits home. seeing it in words. if it was another time not long from now he might type in an "i know". it's not so he doesn't and he stares at the words for too long a time. ]
[ he cries at some point, too, and he tells himself he's not sure why and then eventually he swallows everything back. and the text that comes back is a singular phrase that holds too much weight and not enough of an answer but he doesn't know what to say: ]
thank you
text | un: CapRogers
un: iamironman
Hello[ Mmm too serious. ]
Hey,[ Mmmmm too casual. ]
Hi.[ The period makes it seem like he's mad. ]
Look, okay,[ Still no. ]
Clint, I[ Nope. ]
You are the absolute LAST person I wanna talk to right now[ Too honest. ]
I know I am DEFINITELY the last pers[ Too presumptive.
Okay, none of those are it. Delete everything. ]
Natasha needs help with a thing.
[ There. That's... Safe. And normal. ]
Trying to convert the Bites' batteries to something, y'know, ~magical~ and I need someone with electric powers to charge the crystals.
So with Thor gone and all...
Can I pretty pretty please borrow your tattoos for a bit?
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Don't know how much of a jolt you need but I can sure give it a try. I've picked up a shock ring, too. Might not be as powerful but apparently I've decided I'm doing double duty on the avenging front.
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Meet me at the smith at our fort in...
Whenever you want.
20 minutes?
Gotta grab some materials from the space I'd been using first...
[ "Grab some materials" roughly translates to "work himself up to this." ]
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[Is what he's going to say instead of anything else. It's fine. They aren't talking about anything. It's fine.
He makes it 25 minutes, for a little wiggle room. He won't be weird about anything if Tony isn't weird about anything (which means, ugh, it's going to get weird, isn't it), and he is just perfectly calm and relaxed and normal when he strides into Fort Asshole and the smithy so helpfully and conveniently built for them.]
Knock knock, I'm ready to try and pretend to be Thor.
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He gets the door open and starts putting his armful of tools and materials and stuff-he'd-been-working-on with a few deep breaths, trying to keep his mind busy.
"Oh you're back to normal so we're knocking again?" is the joke that dies on Tony's tongue. ] Great. [ He says, trying not to sound stilted. ] I'll grab the- [ There's a vague hand gesture in the direction of a pile of rocks, some glowing crystals about the size of AA batteries that he fishes out of the pile among them.
He stares down at the floor slightly behind Clint after he turns around 'batteries' in hand. ] So. This is- I don't know what I'm doing, here, exactly. You know that. I'm not the magic guy. But. A bit of testing's taught me that you can charge one-a these bad boys with the same kinda magic as you want 'em to hold, and- That'll... Work. Some? How? [ His eyes flick over to Clint before he quickly glances back at the floor. ] Long as no one's losing a finger, I'll be happy. [ A beat goes by, but Tony doesn't even realize what he just said. ]
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But. Tony is very distracting.
He's distracted and he's different and he's wrong and he's not quite...right. He's different in trying to seem not at all different. And then he makes the comment about losing a finger, and, sure, under literally any other circumstances, that would be a perfectly normal thing for an engineer to say, but under these circumstances--]
Jesus Christ, [quiet, soft, under his breath but audible.
Yeah. Tony doesn't know what he's doing here. (Un?)Fortunately, neither does Clint. Can they not know what they're doing together, maybe?]
No fingers for any collections. [Fine. He'll do it. He'll be the bad guy and mention it first.] Got it. Are you gonna stare into space the entire time, too?
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Tony sets the crystals down next to him on a table harder than he means to. None break, but it does make more of a sound than he expected it to. He doesn't jump, but he does come close. ] Do you want a drink? [ His gaze meets Clint's as he points at the archer before he points back at himself. ] I want a drink.
[ ...Let's all ignore the fact that it's mid-morning as he grabs a bottle of whiskey off the shelf, uncorks it, and takes a swig straight from the bottle before setting it down with a clack next to the crystals. ] Okay! [ Clap. ] I feel better.
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You're not...him anymore, right, Tony? You're the right you, in the right body?
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At the rest of the interrogation though... ] Oh, do not worry about a thing; I am me, myself, and I. [ Unfortunately so was he, the other him, in a twisted, weird sort of way. Tony inhales sharply. ] But as you might be experiencing yourself, it's a little hard to un-remember things.
[ Tony laughs; it sounds forced. ] Y'know I was a woman for a bit? I was really hot. [ There, subject change... ]
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[Is that how deep the fear runs? So powerful that Tony as he is right now has to fight it?]
If you told me a woman you wasn't hot, I'd know something was wrong with the universe. es. Universes. Was that one fun? God, I hope it was fun.
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Tony grabs for the bottle again, forcing the tension out of his shoulders with a few steadying breaths and some shoulder rolls. ] Well, okay... More fun except for that brief period in the early 2000s when I was married. [ Wait for it. ] To Justin. [ Here it comes. ] Hammer.
[ He bursts out laughing a moment later. Ridiculous, and stupid, and why the fuck had she listened to Obadiah on having their companies 'show solidarity in these war torn times' will remain a mystery to him for the rest of his life. (Or would remain a mystery, if he wasn't painfully aware of the fact that when Obie said jump, he and she alike used to ask 'How high?')
As he lets out one last scoff, he feels more... Normal. Sort of. ] Honestly, and I hate to make this joke, I do. But somehow? Worse in bed than you. [ Hammer he means. Tony shrugs. ] Other you. Can't really judge you-you.
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Ouch, that's awful. Tell me she dumped his ass? Tell me she was smart enough to realize she deserved better. [He plucks up one of the crystal batteries, holding it up to the light.] At least those Avengers had another woman on the team. Can't just say the girl one and everyone know who you're talking about.
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[ The crystal is a milky white, a slight twinkling glow moving within it like a lava lamp. ] Pretty, innit? [ Tony grabs a screwdriver and finishes tightening a few things on one of the adaptors he fashioned to hook the crystal up to the Widow Bites' power source. ] It's small, which means it's not gonna hold a charge for that long, but- [ He picks a bowl of salt water up off the floor and puts it on his workbench with a thunk. Then, he grabs the crystals, and drops them in the water. ] This allegedly helps? [ He gestures for Clint to hand over the crystal he's looking at. ]
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You talk to your boyfriend about all this? I have to assume he had a hand in it, given you're not the magic guy. Even-- [He almost says William, but, they had that conversation, so...] Billy probably could help a good deal. He's got a natural aptitude for this stuff. The [spooky finger wiggle] magic stuff.
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He mixes the water around with his index finger, swirling his finger clockwise 9 times. ]
Alright, so what we're gonna do, is you're gonna take these different crystals and charge 'em all with your zappy bullshit and I'll see which one likes the electric [ Spooky finger waggle. ] energy the best. Easy enough?
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But this! Is more important! Because it's for Natasha, and also it's Tony reaching out in spite of himself. He reaches for a crystal, but then hesitates before he touches the water.] Is there anything else you have to do to them first, or can I start? I don't know if there's any good way for me to...regulate this, so hopefully I don't explode any of them.
[But when he's given the go ahead, he holds each in his right hand, pinched between fingers, and gives them a zap of lightning. It's hardly godly. It's just...like, taser fingers, man. But it's an experiment, so he'll zap away. His arm starts to get a little warm under the sleeves, feeling the lines of Thor's tattoo specifically down his arm. Nothing to worry about!!!]
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Stephen's assured me none of them explode. [ He reassures before he leans closer to the bowl to watch. The submerged crystals all begin to glow faintly yellow, sparks dancing on their surfaces, as Clint charges them.
Tony stares for a moment before he glances up and then glances right back at the bowl. ] Holy shit, is this... Actually working? [ He doesn't mean to sound so, heh, shocked - he's just kind of impressed with himself that he's figured out how to do magical engineering. ]
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And the real magic is that Clint's tat magic seems to actually be doing something useful here. He can see the effects. Wonders about overcharge, discharge, how much of a zap the bites are really going to be able to deliver, but it's something better than nothing, and Tony is impressed.
And fuck, he should be impressed. Magitech is nothing to sneeze at in terms of engineering prowess. At least in their universe. On their Earth.] Think you're outdoing yourself this time, old man. Pretty soon you'll be outforgeing the forgemaster and making magic swords and magic armor.
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Hands on his hips as he looks at the bowl suspiciously, Tony's eyes flick around the room for- ] A-hah... [ He grabs a pair of tongs, instead, to extract the crystals from their bath. He lines them up on his workbench, from the faintest glow (a piece of tourmalinated quartz) to brightest (a citrine point) before he grabs his crystal-to-normal-battery adapters and pops the second faintest crystal (an amethyst) in using his tongs to manipulate it and install it in Natasha's left Bite, which he promptly puts on the bench and passes over to Clint. ] Here. [ A beat. ] Your aim's better. [ He explains. ] Hit me and I'll tell you how bad this hurts.
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But at the request, he stares down at the Bite, face screwing up a little, and back up at Tony. Even if it's just a taser, that is a hell of a request to be making of him. Given the issues they aren't talking about.] I could also hit myself and tell you how bad it hurts.
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[ Another beat, and Tony kind of sheepishly tacks on: ] Besides, I was dumb enough to bare-handed grab the thing and lived to tell the tale, so how much worse could you Bite-ing me be? [ Plus, this is no longer in the running for Top 20 Worst Things Clint Has Ever Done to Him at this point. But Tony is going to pointedly not point that out. ]
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[Not that he's not gonna put on the fucking wristband thing with the fucking electroshock Bites.] How about I just punch you in the arm a couple times.
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[ Tony doesn't bother to hide the 'hah, told you so' smirk on his face as he sees Clint slip the wristband on. ] How about you quit bitchin' and start testin'?
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[Did he ever get that window fixed? Maybe Tony should come find out--
No, shit, fine, god, okay. Quit bitching and start testing. There is literally a doctor in the house, so if something goes wrong physically or magically, he should be just a shout away. It's fine. It'll be fine.
He still aims for the arm, though. Zap!]
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Think we can do better than that. [ He beckons Clint closer with his fingers while pulling the next brightest crystal over to him with his tongs. Normally, Tony would be grabbing at that wrist-mounted taser to immediately start dissembling and speed the process up, but- As his eyes brush over Clint's wrist, he decides against it, hand hovering in midair, paused on its way over. ]
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But whatever helps him mentally categorize crystal zaps. He holds out his wrist and...waits...except that. Hm. Except that Tony does not seem to be interested, currently, in doing the thing.]
...You need me to pop the old one out so you can pop the new one in? [Is that?? it??]
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[ This is fine. ]
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[Or. Rather. If he needs Clint to not be here, he'll...go. He'll still fuss with the weapon, popping the crystal out of place and depositing the crystal as best as he can without directly touching it. (Look, it might still have a charge, and he doesn't think he's immune to a shock even if it originated from himself. No thanks! No thank you.)]
We could get your boyfriend to do the tests.
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Tony sighs a moment later, a slight scowl on his face. ] Exposure therapy. [ A beat. ] The sooner I stop avoiding you, the sooner we get to put that shit behind us. Had to do it for the- [ Hole. He cuts himself off before he says it, not exactly wanting to compare Clint to... That. ] Had to do it before. [ Comes Tony's correction. Followed by a brief smile that someone could blink and miss.
He deposits the next crystal in the weapon, it slides in nice and easy
like a syringe going into his armand Tony wastes no time shutting the weapon back up for round two. He claps Clint on the shoulder with only a stutter of hesitation. ] You're up.no subject
I get that you're the king of Not Talking About It. And in this case, I'm good with that. I just...don't want something neither of us actually did to fuck things up here. We do that enough ourselves.
[Also zap, asshole.]
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Wasn't avoiding you, really. Just... Busy. [ A beat. ] Wasn't exactly the worst time to get busy, though. [ Another beat, Tony lets out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. ] Anyway, no one's fucking anything up. You forgave me for the months of really awful Narsicko [ Thank you, Till. ] jokes.
So alternate me can forgive alternate you for wasting his booze. [ He says with an easy smirk, like that was the biggest sin. ]
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Don't mind Clint looking particularly unimpressed. Clearly that's his default state.] The fact that shit got fixed like a day later didn't make alt me very happy. God forbid people experience starvation in the torture laboratory, I guess.
[But, y'know, more to the point:] I hope you're gonna write down these ratings in a way that other people can actually understand at some point. Feeling of shrapnel at least is... [Not, uh, not universal, but a lot more people are gonna understand it. He starts the process of carefully ejecting that crystal out to let Tony load the next one up.] Makes more sense to people generally.
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I owe you a shitty decaf coffee one-a these days. For old time's sake.
Anyway, shoot me.
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[We are NOT. talking about shit-ass decaf coffee though. Clint decides you know what, maybe that's enough talking about it for now. Tony's even improving as they talk. Look at him, touching, even! They'll get over this hump.
Get zapped, asshole.]
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[ But, right, numbers. ] Eight-point-five? Nine? Somewhere in that neighborhood. [ He exhales, it comes with another pained sound effect. ] Eugh...
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You wanna call it there, Stark? Still not looking to fry that brain of yours; it's the only part of you worth hanging onto. [Would they be them if they didn't verbally jab each other, really-]
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Lemme... [ Pant. ] Catch my breath... And I'll send you home with some citrine to get charged. [ Tony shrugs a shoulder from his doubled over position as he continues breathing heavily. ] Bring 'em back, y'know, whenever...
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An exhale later and Tony sags against that arm, letting it lead him to a bench. ] I'm fine, I'm fine- [ He protests even as he settles down to sit. Tony lets himself catch his breath for a minute, just breathing interspersed with the occasional promise that he's fine, really. But once he's not panting any more... ] Appreciate the help getting this done, Clint. [ A beat. ] No one else was answering my calls. [ Truthfully, he never had an alternate plan involving anyone else if this didn't work. But no one else has to know that. ]
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Pretty sure you could've gotten other people to help. I can't be the only one that's got taser fingers. [...Oh god, is he the only one right now with taser fingers?] But it's for Nat's sake, so. [He gives a little smirk, shake of his head, before he stands and makes to get this bitch a glass of water, god damn.] I'll only hang up on you if you're being truly an asshole.
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Tony takes the glass eagerly, drinks down some water greedily, tamps down the needless urge to smash it on the ground and cut- He exhales a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and gingerly puts the glass down on the table before he runs hands through his hair. ...Or tries to, he bumps into the horns pretty quickly with a soft, frustrated groan. Not even allowed to be stressed the normal way anymore, fuck. Tony lets himself fall quiet. The magic ink in his tattooed arc reactor thrums not unlike the real one used to; a meditative, familiar feeling. ]
We're good. [ He says it about a few things: His magical electricity experiment, their weird shared delusion, and whatever happens here next. ] Thanks for your help.