◉ Video + Action

[vagabond_code]

Who: Clint "a Hawkeye" Barton and yous guys
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: Marsiva
When: This evening

[Clint begins his broadcast with his hearing aids in, but the result is a series of false starts where it’s obvious from the wincing and the head-turning that he’s dealing with some sort of loud or high-pitched feedback. It isn’t long before he ditches them - rips them off and pockets them - and starts over again. lips it is, then ]

Alright this isn’t going to be a big thing - I just want to put my face out there.

[And he pauses, counting out the seconds for whoever might be looking to take a look at their beep-machines and catch sight of him.]

Oh, and to whoever brought us here, nice ship. Also, you’ve got some balls, kidnapping someone who carries one of these in his wallet:

[Casually, meaningfully, accidentally, he produces a blockbuster membership card, with the printed name Clinton F. Barton and a signature. When he catches his mistake he tosses the card down out of frame and the camera catches him thumbing through the inside of his wallet. Following that, the sound of him mumbling:]

Futzing Avengers ID, never around when you… [He trails off. The feed doesn’t.]

[A little later, sitting wherever there’s a seat to be claimed aboard the Marsiva, he’ll be found picking cards out of his wallet and tossing them down onto a table. Reorganizing, dismissing some, yet the cards that he doesn’t tuck back into their leathery hideaway are all landing corner-to-corner in a perfect even pile.

A little later, you might catch him sprawled out and napping. Because he naps. He’s a napper.]

Comments

[vagabond_code]

An' you'd be an expert on things that help, wouldja?

[He wasn't being rude, but curious.]

[mucked]

I know where we are [ roughly ] and why we're here [ by rumour. ] Do you believe you can do better, Mister Avenger?

[ slowly -- and with honey-and-jam dripping off her british lilt -- she baits the hook. had she read 'BARTON' in that godawful scrawl on the card-back? my my, that sounds like a familiar piece of jim barnes's future-puzzle. she'd read it in a file. ]

[vagabond_code]

Not yet, but I know I'm a shmuck in a holding pen and I know ain't seen you around.

[So maybe there are more rec-room/kitchen/dorm mashups around and she's captive too, or maybe she's involved in keeping him here.]

[mucked]

Once upon a time -- not so long ago -- I stood where you stand. She's called the Marsiva, by the way, and she's far prettier than the sardine tins the rest of us call our billets. In my opinion.

[ it won't do much, she thinks. let him cast me as his villain. the fresh reality programming recruits were, at times, most keen to lash out at the first faces they saw. peggy makes her peace with assuming this position.

she believes (wrongly, perhaps) that his righteous snark will burn itself out in the end. ]

[vagabond_code]

Assuming you're one of those people that doesn't like sardines. Me, I'd take sardines over cattle or rats most days of the week.

[mucked]

[ she does believe you've honed in on the least important part of that whole exchange, mister barton. ]

My point is that you should stretch your legs while you can. Within the week -- regardless of whether it's a sardine day or not -- you'll no longer be aboard the Marsiva.

[ you'll be on another equally infuriating but markedly smaller ship. with strangers. ]

[vagabond_code]

Okay, I'll bite.

[He might have made a fish-joke, but is that even how they catch sardines?]

Where are we going? Somewhere with breathable air? I hope so, or you guys are getting one heck of a scathing Yelp review.

[mucked]

In theory? Yes. The fleet stops at planets -- and their air, so far as I've encountered, has been breathable. But I wouldn't call them our destination.

[ see how (un)helpful she is? but, in truth, she's simply keen to answer one question at a time. she allows him to control the pace of this 'interrogation', rather than dumping information on him all at once. ]

[vagabond_code]

[But Clint has sat through enough Avengers pow wows that he'd become pretty good at prolonged listening.]

Oh good, five stars.

[mucked]

Our captors, Mister Barton -- it is Barton, isn't it? [ she'd read the card. ] Our captors are less interested in the destination than they are our journey.

[vagabond_code]

Clint.

[There were plenty of people who called him "Barton", and he had a working relationship with almost all of them. Far fewer people called him "Mr. Barton". Mothers, lawyers, doctors and grandstanding bad-guys. She wasn't any of those, far as he could tell.]

[mucked]

Peggy.

[ she refrains from giving out her last name. so far, every individual linked up with the avengers has recognized her for things she's not yet done. assuming it will go much the same with clint f. barton, she wants to maintain at least a shred of anonymity for the time being. ]

Ordinarily, I'd say it's a pleasure -- but.

[vagabond_code]

Considerin' the circumstances.

[He agrees, nodding minutely. He hadn't realized they were exchanging names, so the concession of hers tempers him somewhat.]

[mucked]

Considering the circumstances. [ she echoes. so far, he isn't unreasonable. isn't even all that unlikable -- not that she expected him to be. but perhaps she's biased: those who are part of the avengers from the far-flung future get a better starting position in regards to her good will. ]

I imagine you'll be fielding many questions, as well, if you're throwing around a name like Avengers. But I'll keep my own in check until the end, in case there are more answers you'd prefer to hear first.

[vagabond_code]

Or we could take turns.

[mucked]

[ dryly: ] How fair-minded of you. Who goes first?

[ she does, apparently. because she's already asked a question. ]

[vagabond_code]

Me.

[He said, because he noticed.]

Have you been here long?

[mucked]

Five months. Give or take a week. [ her arms can be seen to cross. she has such surety in her posture. ] But others have been here longer.

-- What is an Avenger?

[ she suspects he's one of that particular number -- but 'avenger' isn't exactly an uncommon word. she can't assume anything. ]

[vagabond_code]

Just a group of people trying to do the right thing.

[Damn, that was definitely a "what would Steve do" sort of moment, but coming out of Clint's mouth it sounded pretty hokey. He should have gone with "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." - it was basically their slogan.]

Where are we? Space-wise?

[mucked]

[ a smile plays about the corners of her mouth: the kind of smile that almost exists, and its effect lingers long after it melts away. ]

Haven't a clue, Clint. Sorry. Space isn't my forte. [ ... ] Who else is in your group? Or is that classified?

[ two questions, perhaps. but she wants to preempt what she predicts will be an easy dodge. ]

[vagabond_code]

[Was she being cagey? Because he could be cagey.]

Arrived alone, Peggy. Sorry.

Where are you speakin' from?

[mucked]

The good ship Starstruck. [ hmph. ] And you and I both know I was asking about your group of remarkable people, I think. Where are they based?

[vagabond_code]

Not quite confidential, but whatever your angle is you aughta know you're on the edge of it.

[But -]

Avengers Tower, Manhattan, New York. Earth.

[That last point seemed unnecessary, but hey, they were in space.]

You have any crazy super-powers?

[mucked]

God, no.

[ awkward laughter gives way to an awkward pause. think on that! peggy carter, with powers. as much as she admires steve rogers, she's never envied him his abilities. ] But Manhattan's a bit of alright, isn't she? Turns out you and I go to work in the same borough.

Do you like your job?

[vagabond_code]

[Manhattan's a bit forthright? A big fortnight? He wasn't getting it. Trying to figure it out got him a bit lost, but he caught back up at her question.]

It's complicated.

[Would she accept that as an answer? Probably not, but it would have to do for now.]

Can you slow down a bit?