Summary:Steve accompanies Clint to his apartment to spare the archer from its loss due to absence. But wait — there's a break-in?! Who's the lady in purple?! Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Transition is the enemy of time management. Barton hates it for the most part, at least when he's on the clock and has somewhere to be or some task begging his attention. Seems like he spends a good chunk of his time just trying to get to a place on time, or get all the ducks in a row. It's why the image of Clint Barton rushing out of the Triskelion isn't a rare one, and why those with cubicles and offices near Hawkeye's hole in the wall are used to this sort of thing by now.
"Groucho, you send those files to me as soon as you get them." Clint says as he hastily throws on his jacket, slinging it over his shoulders and swapping hands to stuff a donut in his mouth.
Groucho, also known as Agent Wilkins, scowls and says, "Right." The nickname probably having something to do with his mustache.
"And Em, you know where to reach me if I'm off grid?" The other agent addressed waves over the lip of her cubicle.
"Alright,no idea how long this is gonna take me. We gotta keep pushing on this AIM thing." And as he turns around to head on out… he runs into an old face attached to an old… old old man.
"Cap!" He thumps the man on the shoulder giving him a once over. "Man, s'good to see you. C'mon…" He seems to not even slow down, he's walking already.
"Clint, geez." Having come around the corner at a brisk pace himself, Steve pulls up before he accidentally bowls his fellow SHIELD agent over by dint of speed and build. "Hey, god, long time, no see." Grinning, he returns the friendly thumping with care given his strength.
"Figure you're escaping the desks too?" he asks even as he glances over his shoulder back towards the collection of cubicles. "I can't believe I'm getting out of here before 1900 hours. There has to be a trick. Either that, or someone threatened whomever's handing down paperwork." The Captain laughs as he shifts his motorcycle helmet under his arm. "Oh, got your email earlier. I'll follow you to your place and back you up. No land-lady's gonna toss your stuff." This has the solemnity of a promise to it as they exit out of the Triskelion and into the warm evening air.
Eventually, the two men do end up at the apartment building housing Clint's abode. Up the stairs they go and Steve pauses in the hallway, glancing over at Clint. "After you," he says, ushering the archer forwards.
It doesn't take a superhero to take note of the fact that the door to Clint's apartment is open already once they arrive. There's no signs of forced entry other than a few scrapes around the door lock where the metal was scratched by what one would assume to be lockpicks. Easily missed. The door otherwise is one peice. No one had tried to break it down to enter. Whoever it was attempted to be quiet, and subtle.
Maybe it was the landlady?
Inside Kate stands in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips as she regards the room with a perplexed expression, and wrinkled nose. The young dark haired woman dressed in a fashionable suit of purple shifts her foot to nudge a pile of what she presumed were clothes left on the floor with the toe of her boot. It knocks a stray arrow over earning a quiet sigh of apparent disgust.
"Crazy, right?" Clint said as the two men had walked briskly. "I'm paid up for like the year. She's complaining there's a smell. Like how is there a smell?" There is most likely a smell.
But then the two had made it to the car pool and gotten their vehicles. It was a quick trip to the apartment, considering the main reason Clint chose that one was its proximity to the Triskelion. Work life separation? What's that.
They had made it inside the three story old apartment building, climbing up the steps. As they passed one of the mid-floor apartments Clint paused long enough to rap his knuckles on the door and shout, "It's Clint Barton Mrs. Krazowitz. I'm here so you can call off the dogs." His voice carries, loud enough to be heard likely throughout the building.
Then it's back to the ascent since of /course/ Clint has one of the top floor apartments. Cheaper after all. "So I talked to Simmons, got the all clear to pull external resources into the yellow jump suit gang case. You want in on that?" Since really, Cap would be ideal.
Boots clomp and thump up the stairs. They reach that open door and Clint pauses and scowls, lightly running a fingertip along the edge of the door jam. "Aww man, would you look at this? Nosey." He presumes the landlady, for now at least.
"What docket are we calling the yellow jump suit case?" The Captain frowns as he tries to remember which mission got labled with such a name. The opened door, however, has him scowling all the more deeply.
"Nosey's one thing. Breaking and entering is another thing entirely." He shifts his hold on the motorcycle to something subtly more ready, as if he might use the thing as a weapon. Old habits of suspicion die hard. "I've got your back," he murmurs, glancing over at Clint.
Kate Bishop freezes where she stands at the sound from below. Clint Barton? No way. Nooo way. There's a moment of panic as she glances around debating if she ought to hide. Then again there were so few places to hide that didn't look trashed already. Others she wasn't precisely sure what was in the corners and given the smell she wasn't about to find out. Just as they get to the door she's taken a few quick steps toward the window. Too late, she hears the hesitation of footsteps at the door.
There was not going to be any way to do this quietly.
The distance to the window is crossed in two single leaping steps. No time to open it so on that last step her weight shifts back to kick her boot through the glass. Completing the motion she spins on the ball of her foot back to the windowOh this was going to leave a markand attempts to dive through it head first out onto the fire escape.
"It's the Advanced Idea…" His words falter when he steps into the room and there is the girl in purple standing in the middle of his apartment amongst all the mess and the stink of… Ohhhh that blue cheese and buffalo wing pizza he forgot to throw out. Yeah that would smell.
In the apartment it really is an exercise in Bachelor Chic. A futon, because of course a futon, sits with its back to a wall and there's an over-sized television against the other. A 'coffee table' composed of old cardboard boxes seems to be the main other piece of furniture in the room. Then embedded in a wall is a bullseye with various arrows and thrown objects, which really might damage the apartment's resale value. And this isn't even touching the mess of a bathroom and bedroom down the hall.
"Hey!" Clint says succinctly as he pushes the door open fully and breaks into a run inside. There's that shatter of glass as she kicks his window! And then he's leaping through the air to tackle this… ok this young woman.
There's a thud and a thump, and Clint tries to pin her with a knee as he straightens and he says sharply, "You don't leap through a window head first, what are you cra…" Then there's a pause as his brow furrows. "Wait… don't I know you?"
Right behind Clint, silent rather than announcing his presence with a curt shout, comes the Captain with his gleaming handful of motorcycle helmet. He quickly skims the apartment visually — wow, it's a mess, Bucky would cringe — and he too then catches sight of the interloper.
But rather, it's Clint who catches aforementioned interloper, even before the helmet can be used as a projectile. Steve walks over, frowning, but continues to remain silent. That's a valid question from the archer, after all.
Kate Bishop manages not to let out an undignified yelp when she's tackled from behind and brought to the floor with a painful thud. Both her hands hold up defensively, or more accurately as if she were being held up as she just accepts her fate. "Look I broke in yes but I didn't trash the place, someone must have gotten here before me and tossed it, okay?"
She's clearly giving Clint *way* too much credit if she thought it might have been broken into once before already. A few quick breathes are taken, and she glances between Clint and Cap with a perplexed expression. Oh he wasn't alone. Great.
"I'm not crazy. I was planning to grab hold of the fire escape ledge and swing down. Easy." This was clearly off topic though when he asks if he knows her. A faint smirk creeps over her face. "We met about six years ago."
Straightening up, Clint keeps that knee in place for now, but then looks the place over. He quirks an eyebrow as if taking a mental inventory of his surroundings, but then he says, "Yeah… they musta." But he doesn't dispel that misrepresentation, instead he looks back down at her anew as she mentions they had indeed met.
He chews the inside of his cheek for a moment, then his eyes widen a bit as the memory returns. The weight of his knee eases back as he rocks onto his feet and then rises up. A hand is extended towards her to help her up as well as he says, "Wait… you were the munchkin?" She wasn't /that/ short, but yeah it was a while ago.
A glance is sent Cap's way and he says, "It's cool. I think." He looks back towards her, "Umm, why are you here?"
Steve gives Clint a blatantly surprised look complete with those impressively-active eyebrows of his at the fact of paths crossed years ago. That the archer confirms it has him pulling his lips to one side as if he's trying…not to smile to himself. Instead, he takes up a classic Captain-ly stance, resting the helmet and his other hand both on a hip.
"If it's cool, why were you breaking and entering? You do realize that's illegal?" It's a honest sanity check by the man, apparently.
Kate Bishop oofs a little bit when Clint sits up but still keeps his knee in her stomach. It wasn't the most comfortable position though it seemed to be effective for keeping her holding still. Frankly she wasn't expecting him to remember off the bat so when he calls her munchkin her nose gives a little crinkle. "I'd like to think I grew out of that phase. I wasn't that short." Hmph.
The question by Steve draws her attention back to him as she peers at him from her position on the floor. Lightly she tries to sit up by levering her elbws behind her so she's not completely prone. "I know. No one had seen or heard from the original Hawkeye for months though. I was trying to see if something had happened to him."
"Heh, the original Hawkeye," Clint says as he looks over at Cap as if enjoying the prestige that seems to go with that. But then he furrows his brow and looks back at her, "Wait what? There's another Hawkeye?" He says this as he steps past her and towards the window, frowning at the broken shards.
Then he rounds back, "In any case, I thought we were cool. It was…" He looks towards Cap, then down to the side as if trying to dig up as much of the memory as much as possible. "Some geeks were trying to kidnap you and you seemed alright. Why would you bust up my place?"
But then he goes on to solve her mystery, "In any case, yeah I've been outta the country."
Those malleable eyebrows dance around again as the Captain looks between the young woman and Clint. "'Original' Hawkeye," he echoes dubiously under his breath. His stance is no less bemused, even with the personal addendums about past rescues and the state of the apartment.
Steve does glance around the place again. "Don't think she busted up your place, Clint. Even I can tell that pizza box is a couple of months old." Sometimes, super-soldier noses are a curse.
"If you just broke into a place only to find it already trashed, and heard people announcing themselves coming up the stairs, would you automatically assume it's the actual owner of the apartment or maybe other people?" Kate points out reasonably. Getting to her feet she dusts herself off taking care to swipe a few times at her thighs before she lifts her wrists to check the bracer worn on one arm. It wasn't anything super sturdy, but it was well made. Familiar even. A guard for archery.
Kate lifts a single eyebrow looking still oh-so-smug while regarding Clint. There's no answer to the other Hawkeye. At least not at first. Blue eyes skip over to the Captain to give a helpless shrug.
"Yes, there's another Hawkeye. Nice to meet you, Hawkeye."
To Steve though, as if it was somehow a defense, Clint replies. "It was yummy though." And, to be fair, it looked like he ate over half of what was in the box. Though what's left may have… grown… and expanded… and mutated.
But then what Kate says steals all of his attention and he gives her a look like she's sprouted a third eyeball. "Wait what?" He shakes his head again and perhaps even waits for her to start to say something before he interrupts her rudely. "You can't be another Hawkeye?"
Then to Cap, "Can she be another Hawkeye?"
Back to her, "You can't be another Hawkeye."
He walks back further into the room and one can almost see the way his brain goes through the various teeth in the gears turning inside his head. "I mean, hey, flattering? Right?" Again to Cap for reassurance. Then back to Kate, "But it's like… a trademark thing?" But then he seems to argue against himself as he adds, "Well really it's more just a codename."
"Technically you've got the name all picked out and it's definitely in your files at our place of business," the Captain notes to Clint, using a euphamism for SHIELD. "Though it'd be a bit confusing if there were two Captain Americas. Not as fun as Doublemint gum or anything like that."
He shifts in place and realizes he's stepped in some sticky mess spilled months ago on the floor. The bottom of his boot can be heard to untack itself and he grimaces. "You all can flip a coin over it if you want," he adds in a nonchalant manner, again looking between the two of them with something not quite a smile on his lips. Behold: the Brooklyn smart-ass.
Kate Bishop spreads her hands in a shrug in response to his denial. "You weren't around to use it. Besides, it's not as if they can't tell the two of us apart. I'm clearly prettier, and have a better sense of style." Lifting her hand she delicately takes hold of the edge of her sunglasses, which had been perched atop her head, to slide them down over her eyes. So much cooler than Clint.
"Don't worry, I haven't been living off of the notoriety of your name. I've helped to stop a large scale alien abduction, and fought alongside Asgardians to stop an apparent attempt by another pantheon of gods to bring about the end of the world. Even work with a group sponsored by the Fantastic Four."
At the comment about flipping a coin, Clint just gives Cap a look that bespeaks of tragedy poignantly as one would imagine a lone Senator set upon in the forum. But he shakes his head and then looks back at Kate, "That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works!?"
He rests his hands on his hips and heaves a small sigh as he listens to her. When she recites some of the things she's been a part of, Clint at least entertains the idea it might be true as he looks towards Cap and cocks an eyebrow as if asking if he knew anything about it.
"Look, kid. That's cool. Like I'm sure if I step back from my ego," Hah. "And give it a chance I'll see this is a cool thing. But…" He looks around and crinkles his nose.
There's a pause for a time then he flares his hands, "Look, why don't we go get something to eat and sit down and talk and catch up. I'm feelin' like I'm missing half the picture here."
Then towards Steve, "Cap, thanks for offerin' to help, but I think I need to get this thing hammered down before I deal with the apartment. You gonna be around for the…"
He shoots a glance at Kate, then continues to Cap. "For the Yellow Jumpsuit Guys?"
Clint gets a flat look from the Captain at his absolutely un-subtle reference to the latest docket from Dr. Simmons. "Yep, should be around for the Yellow Submarine Press-Gang Party," he deadpans, further muddling the unapproved name for the mission in question. "Let me know how this pans out in case I need to change any file names back at the barnyard." He lifts a hand towards Kate in particular and she gets a small, professional smile.
"He's got a smart mouth, but he's a good guy. Give him a chance," Steve tells the young woman in the purple suit before he turns to wade back towards the door.
"Shoot me a text if you need to," he adds over his shoulder towards Clint as he's exiting the apartment. "Or if you need some Swiffer Wet-Jets or something."
All in friendly fun, of course, the tease.
"Maybe some pine sol," Kate has to add in quietly while flashing a grin toward Steve along with a nod of apparent agreement to his words of wisdom.
Looking back to Clint she offers, "I'll pay for the window. It was my fault anyway. Though really, ever thought of hiring a maid? Or just remembering when trash day is?" Another look around is given as the apparent ruin of the room wasn't due to other burglars.
"First you steal a guy's name and then slap him with an attitude." Clint says even as Cap is making his way out. A wave is given to the other Avenger, but it's clear that Clint is more focused on the girl who has made him grumpy.
"C'mon, we'll get something to eat and you can tell me the whole thing and maybe we can come up with some better names. Like… I dunno, Kid Hawkeye. Or EagleGirl. Or something." That said he heads towards the door, and this time waits long enough for her to step through and then for him to lock it.