[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.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brandingproblem) wrote2025-03-24 12:12 pm
no subject
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.
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
[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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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?]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
Why?
no subject
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.
no subject
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.]