driftfleet | 084.1 Video

Entry tags:

084.1 Video

Who: Lance Hunter and yourself, should you choose to engage!
Broadcast: yes
Action: Marsiva
When: no time like the present!

[ the comm seems to be haphazardly leaning against something, and the image you get is crooked. a sleeping man, who almost instantly awakes with a start. no scream, mercifully, he's quite over screamer videos, and besides, it wouldn't really be that surprising under the circumstances, now, would it? his eyes dart around the room, his feet flying off the cot and touching the ground. the moment he speaks, his accent undeniably and unapologetically identifies him as an englishman. ]

Not again - [ he groans, looking around him. the first time he was knocked out and kidnapped happened because he was foolish, he trusted a friend when clearly he had overestimated the bond, bloody spies, he's had his fill of bloody spies. but this time - he has no idea what happened. one minute, he's in a pod, sailing to freedom and the next - he's in this bed. he must not have deactivated something. do they have a blasted tracker beam on these things? so paranoid! ] Oi, @therealshield, you forgot to paint your eagle - I'm gonna have to deduct your merits - [ no answer. the room really doesn't seem like anywhere his previous captors kept him in, and that's rarely a coincidence. he gets up, and the comm seems to slip off whatever it was leaning against and end up in a new position, one that shows the back of the man, as he walks towards a window. ] ...you have got to be joking.

[ and a moment later ] Bloody aliens!

[ the man comes in and out of the frame, as he's clearly examining his surroundings, before he heads back to check on what he's got by his cot, and notices the comm. picking it up, you now get a close up of his face - ] Little red light - you're either going to explode or - [ that sure looks like a camera, doesn't it? he holds it directly in front of his face. ]

Take me to your leader.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shouldn't it be the other way around? [ what with fitz being from the past, and all. anything hunter would say would go over his head. (of course, anything fitz would say would have the same effect on hunter since while it took them a while to warm up to each other they definitely met when he became affiliated with shield). ]

[ yes, it probably should be the other way around, but given what fitz remembers from home, he's spent a lot of time worrying about his future while here. his future and the future of his friends. the future of shield. so while any events hunter may tell him about would be meaningless to him, but there are some things he wants to hear about.

while peggy gave him some insight into things that would eventually happen, hunter is apparently actually in fitz's future. he would be able to tell him how the team is doing ]

After Project Insight crashed into the Triskelion. After the resurfacing of the Winter Soldier and his fight with Captain America. [ something that even someone who wasn't a part of shield at the time would know about ]

Hydra, um- Hydra just revealed themselves to be a part of SHIELD. They were a part of SHIELD the whole time and we didn't even realize. No one did. A man that Coulson thought he knew was with them, got his men to turn on good, loyal members of SHIELD. They didn't deserve that. They were good people who weren't even given a chance. They were killed in cold blood.

He was prepared to kill Coulson and May, to recruit me to Hydra... [ you asked, hunter! ]

[ oh fitz, why is your shoulder too far away for a squeeze.

something about the way he phrases it strikes him as odd, though. a man that coulson thought he knew? is he talking about garrett? and not ward?

son of a bitch don't tell him he has to break that news as well. ]

Coulson and May are fine, mate, they'll outlive the cockroaches. And as far as I know you're on our side - and in your case I would be gobsmacked if I'm wrong. [ brilliant guy, fitz, but not a mastermind liar. it's one of his favorite things about him. ]

[ soon hunter. once hunter is off the marsiva, they can meet in person and be not too far away!

yes, he's talking about garrett. garrett was supposed to have been loyal to shield, his men as well. and yet. ward, however. ward is a good person. he would never betray them like garrett did. could never.

fitz shakes his head ] Of course I am. I wouldn't betray Coulson. I couldn't betray Coulson.

You mentioned Skye. Is she okay too? [ he pauses, almost afraid of asking the next question, for fear of the answer he might get ] What about Simmons?

[ oh fitz. they should probably hold off on that conversation until they're at least able to speak in person - hunter really has no way to convince fitz to believe him, a stranger, over ward - a teammate and exceptional liar. but at the same he can't let fitz walk around believing that should the guy show up he would be on his side, and - he just cannot and will not pretend that ward is anything but what he is. ]

Simmons is fine. [ well, fine is probably an exaggerated term, he didn't know her before but she's been through the ringer. they all have.

and skye... ] Skye has superpowers now.

[ it might be a little easier for hunter to convince fitz of the truth when ignoring the things that fitz doesn't want to hear is as easy as shutting off the device the moment hunter starts to say things about the people fitz thinks of as friends. given what he saw between garrett and coulson, fitz should believe hunter. but he knows the people he works with, lives with, sees everyday. they're good people, good shield agents. they're his friends.

he just breathes a sigh of relief when hunter says that simmons is fine. he'd prefer better than fine, but given what was going on at home when fitz was taken from there, and given what's likely still going on, he'll take fine ]

Skye has... What? That's a little ridiculous.

[ that's the thing about spies, they can convince you of anything, of the deepest of friendships, the truest of loves - and then turn around and shoot you in the face. or, drop you in the ocean, stuff you in the trunk. ]

It's a lot ridiculous, actually, but there's not a lot of room for sense once you throw aliens into the mix, I'm afraid.

[ hence his initial declaration of bloody aliens. he's already so done with them. there are not enough drinks in the world for the amount of done he feels. ]

[ see, that part is sort of an issue for fitz. even though he works with spies, knows how things work with them, he still trusts them more than maybe he should. and it's not like he can tell when someone is lying to him. he wasn't really trained for that sort of thing. he just sort of assumes, or hopes, that they won't ]

How is there any connection between Skye having powers now, and aliens? [ that's not skepticism. that's genuine curiosity right there ]

[ it's what makes fitz so lovable, he doesn't have to stress over every word, read into every gesture with the guy - it's refreshing. there are so few people who can be taken at face value in their line of work. ]

It's a long and complicated answer that only makes about half a smidgen of sense to me, but buy me a beer when I'm off this Disney cruise [ because he's bored out of his mind and so far his only companions are a girl with pink hair, and another spunky girl. ] and I'll tell you what I know.

[ unfortunately, it's also why he's so easily betrayed. you can't be betrayed if you don't trust anyone. fitz, however, trusts too many people. trusts them maybe a little too easily.

in an organization like shield, he should really know better ]

Yeah, alright. If not that, then whatever passes for beer here.

Um, how long as it been for you? Since Hydra revealed themselves, I mean.

[ even if you're looking not to trust, you can't help yourself. you're never truly freely of potential hurt, as hunter can attest to. ]

Not even a proper drink? That's just needless cruelty.

[ seriously, he needs a real drink so bad right now. he thinks it over for a moment, jobs merging into each other, as meaningful as the day was it gets a little hard to remember when exactly it fell. he wasn't within shield then, he was just watching the devastation on tv and worrying for the friends he's made, the woman he still loves. ]

About...a year? Give or take -

Not much in the way of proper food here either. Between that and what people pick up during stops though, they make do.

[ just trust him hunter. he will find something, at least partly because he could use it himself.

fitz looks... perhaps more surprised than he should when hunter tells him how longer it's been. given the people he's spoken to here, and what he told hunter just moments before ]

Is Hydra still...? Actually no, don't answer that. [ a short pause ] Never mind. Tell me.

If they're goal is a riot, they're definitely hitting all the right notes.

[ what do you mean no real food and no real booze! that's liking telling him there's no oxygen and no water.

it's the difference between lab and field, all over again. these things hit you much harder in practice. and this is why hunter drinks. ]

We cut off a lot of heads, it was - extremely satisfying. [ a lot, but not all. hydra took a hit, but then so did shield and it recovered impressively. ]

Edited 2017-04-18 18:01 (UTC)

Maybe that is their goal. Seems like something audiences would like. Certain types of audiences, at least. [ not the point, fitz ]

A lot. But not all. So Hydra is still around. [ talking to peggy made him realize that there's at least two more years of hydra ahead of him, but he hoped that she was wrong.

then he grows a little quiet, starts to fidget a little. he's asked about the rest of the team, now he sort of wants to ask about himself. hunter knows him so he's still around at least ]

You said we fixed the plane together, you and I? [ close enough to asking about himself ]

I'll be more than happy to oblige any of these audiences up close and personal.

[ they want a riot he can riot. ]

Cockroaches never really die, particularly when morals and political dealings continually spare them. [ he swears, hydra higher ups to the US government are like cows to vegans. it's enough to drive a man insane. whatever happened to the good old days of get the bad guy - pump his skull full of lead? he longs for those simpler times.

not the entire team, though, did you fitz? there is very much still an elephant in the room. ]

We did. [ he nods ] Turns out all I need is a little direction to transform into a mechanical engineering wizard, not a bad fallback for when this cloak and dagger business because too stabby.

You and a lot of other people, it seems.

[ if you do decide to riot please inform fitz. he would like to be elsewhere at the time. he wants no direct part of that!! ]

They have to. [ because shield and hydra can't really co-exist forever. eventually one will completely eradicate the other because as long as they both exist, one will keep trying to snuff out the existence of the other.

a rather ward shaped elephant, would you say? he is getting to that. he can't imagine ward is doing great though, even a year later. garrett was his mentor! ]

Had something happened to Simmons? [ no offense meant, hunter, but he would go to simmons before anyone else for help with something ]

Cheers - point me in their direction?

[ because most people he's spoken to so far seem disturbingly zen about this whole ordeal. also, sorry fitz, but premeditation is not hunter's strong suit. you'll learn!

he likes your optimism, fitz.

oh dear, well, that's another elephant, now, isn't it? ]

She was on assignment. I believe your reasoning went about - everyone else knew what they were doing so were otherwise occupied, and you needed a pair of steady idle hands.

Once I or anyone else manages to figure out what direction that's in.

[ for fitz, personally, he's in this sort of weird in-between state (though he is forever in the mindset of this isn't right i need to go home). there's no hydra threat here so far. he got to meet peggy carter (simmons will never forgive him for meeting peggy without her). but he was taken against his will. taken against his will from a team who needs him (they all need each other. they each fill a specific role on the team) with no way to get back unless his captors allow it. he should be able to figure some of this out, anything, and yet. it's what he does. he's not particularly strong, or good in any real way at fighting. his brain is what he brings to the table, and they tampered with it.

optimism. that's usually more simmons' sort of thing. but he has to be optimistic about this himself. the alternative is terrifying ]

On assignment? [ by herself or was she with someone? what was the assignment? ] Sounds like you and I made a decent team in her absence, I guess.

[ he frowns for a moment, before realizing fitz has leaped ahead of their conversation. that's alright, he'd much rather be pointed in the direction of the people in charge of this - or the folks at home. ]

I'm gonna hold you to that.

[ it may help and it may just be added pressure, but hunter's pretty sure if anyone can figure this out - it's fitz. especially pre-brain damage fitz. he heard tales of what that guy could do, they were epic. ]

Thanks for the vote of confidence - [ you guess? they saved the bus, what more do you want! there's just no pleasing you, is there? ] I'd say we make a pretty good team even when she's around. Mind you, less on the science and more on the complimentary skill-sets, but some would say that's preferable. [ fitz definitely seemed to prefer it while he was busy avoiding simmons at all cost. sure they didn't really work together as much - but downtime is just as important and telling! even more so, at times. ]

[ pressure. at least at home there's no implant to contend with, and he has simmons to bounce ideas off of. sure, there are plenty of people here who he could accomplish the same things with, but he and simmons just work so well together ]

Uh yeah, sorry. Remember, I don't actually know you and wasn't there to experience it myself. It's hard to judge given the lack of experience. [ sorry hunter! he's not trying to sound like a jerk okay ]

Less on the science... So what do you bring to the team, then? [ wait. that doesn't sound right ] I mean what do you do. What's your particular skill set?

[ not so much simmons as mack, and recently, well, that's proved itself a bad idea. who knows where you're really better off at, buddy. ]

Right, that's going to be not fun.

[ this is all too confusing for him. he's a simple guy - fitz is someone he knows, why can't he also just know him? ]

I'm a multi-talented addition. But I believe the main appeal for the director is my ability to execute bad ideas brilliantly.

[ he's your non-traitor ward replacement. ]

[ so basically, there are several layers of Not Great that fitz doesn't even know about yet. lovely. he's so looking forward to hearing all about the bad! ]

It's not exactly a picnic for me, either. Having someone who knows me, who says I've done things I haven't actually done yet. It's... exactly what I did to Agent Carter and probably how awkward it felt.

[ oops.

look, hunter, he'll get to know you here. and here, you'll get to know a fitz who hasn't been too dumped on my life yet ]

Who was appointed as Director?

[ don't shoot the messenger, you'll hurt yourself. ]

No, sorry, buddy, my loyalties to S.H.I.E.L.D. may be new and questionable, particularly now that there are two of the bloody thing, but I draw the line at blurting the director's secrets on live television. He's a good man.

[ with a meaningful look - understand him, fitz.

that's just going to make dumping his future on him even more depressing. ]

Speaking of Agent Carter - [ he imagines fitz knows his shield history. ] is she legitimate? [ because he realized she pulled the easiest interrogation trick on him - would never have worked if he weren't so bloody angry. she let him decide who she was, never actually did give him her name, or give him much of anything. ] How much do you know about her? Not in the history books - here, now?

[ that's right. hunter never did explain about the real shield. but fitz nods, at least partly sure he understands what it is that hunter is trying to say. he'll never know for certain until there hopefully comes a time when he can confirm it but for now, he has a theory based on how hunter presented his inability to give up the secrets of a good man ]

Agent Carter is legitimate. I've spoken with her a few times, met with her. The things we talked about, the things she told me- She's legitimate. [ even though much of what she told him was simply told to her by other people... ]

[ he's not sure how much he can believe fitz' judgment - his good nature does make him an ideal mark for deception, but it at least seems that if she's faking a persona, she's consistent about it. he nods. ]

How long have you been here, Fitz? How come you didn't report this? [ or is it just another secret kept by the good man he fought the woman he loves and one of his closest friends for? because he may have to retract his comment if it is. ]

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