[ video ]

[notahawkingbird]

[ For a moment, the video appears to be stuck, as if in pause. The girl looking slightly askew of the camera is very still, and only the faint flutter of wind disturbing the bits of dark baby-hair sticking out from the top of her head indicates that the feed is, in fact, perfectly fine--

--and then, she snaps out of it, face gaining back it's animation and she blows her cheeks out, follows it up with a deep breath and nods. ]

So, uh.

Right.

[ Her hands come up in a sort of surrender, sort of awkward 'Hi, this is me' because wow this is weird, video calls when she is in her pajamas. Her salt-water-soaked-but-nevertheless-now-dry pajamas.

It is not comfortable. She doesn't mind Skyping with friends while dressed in her bedtime clothes, but wow, not like this.

She shakes her head, runs her fingers through her hair and huffs: ]

Okay let me start over.

[ The change is subtle, but the difference is huge. Shoulders straightened but not tense, she looks directly into the camera with purpose and suddenly it doesn't matter what she looks like. ]

Hello, my name is Katherine Bishop and I've just arrived in the city.

I've been appraised by the people who fished me out of the water on what little they seem to feel they can divulge, so you can consider this a shout-out to anyone who can supply me information that will give me a better idea of Turtle Land.

I haven't seen the city much, but I'm a keen observer and no stranger to tension in the atmosphere when I see it.

[ There's a brief and considering pause before she continues in a less blunt tone that leans more to negotiation. ] I have currently nothing to trade with or pay you by for the information and I know I don't really look like much at the moment, but I guarantee that I can offer you my resume and list of skillsets if you require all of that in writing.

[ A beat.] Also, if there is anyone from home out there who sees this, please drop me a message. I'm not even going to lie, guys. It would be awesome to see familiar faces right about now. [ There's a faint twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth before she reaches over and the feed goes dark. ]

Comments

[arches]

That might be because the streets just got a little cleaning. But I wouldn't expect that to last for long.

Iffy. As in it doesn't work like it should. But don't ask, on that one. Not like we've even figured it out yet.

[notahawkingbird]

Cleaning? [ cue tone of concern ] That doesn't sound too good.

Ah. This is me nodding. We'll park that query of mine then.

[arches]

It wasn't so bad. _{( it was worse. )}

So, who're you, then? What's your story?

[notahawkingbird]

[ Maybe it's mostly her gut talking, but there's something about that statement that has Kate filing away a Note To Self to ask around about what exactly happened. ]

Uh. [ go with the default, Bishop ] Just a teenager in the wrong place at the wrong time? My dad's a publishing magnate back in New York City. Fell asleep and woke up drenched in seawater and wondering up at people who look passably human.

You?

[arches]

New York, huh? Small world.

_{( he rolls these new bits of information around a bit, not seeing much to do anything with. his shrug is audible, when he speaks again. )}

I guess I... live in New York. Sometimes. Name's Barton.

[notahawkingbird]

[ She actually stops breathing.

There's a split second where she wants to ask, but it passes and Kate just quietly shakes herself instead. Barton's a common enough last name... right? ]

How about that, glad to see a city mate here -- or rather... hear, since this thing has no video and all.

[arches]

Oh, it does. I'm just a little camera shy. _{( he says that mildly, but there's an implication: he doesn't want to be seen. )}

And the city thing is luckier than you might think. Some people here aren't even from Earth.

[notahawkingbird]

Shy guy, huh? [ she chuckles ] S'all good.

I kind of gathered, that. But I suppose if this is a place of in-between you'd get all sorts of people.

[arches]

That's one way of putting it. Either that, or whatever is pulling us here is kind of attracted to freaks.

[notahawkingbird]

Hey [ light teasing ] No freaks here. Just your run of the mill teenager.

Now you, on the other hand I am quietly starting to suspect might have antlers or fish gills and that's why you're all secretive.

[arches]

Or maybe I don't have any of that, and that's why I feel out of place.

I'm cautious. Sue me.

[notahawkingbird]

Maybe... [ there's a little smile in her voice ]

So. Barton, my fellow New Yorker. What's your story?

[arches]

There isn't much of one, kid.

It'd probably bore you, anyway. Guys like me have a lot of boring stories.

[notahawkingbird]

[ soft chuckle ]

Showing up in a city built on the back of a giant turtle isn't boring.

You can make something up if the truth isn't your cup of tea. [ there's the soft sound of her moving a little, just to get into a better sitting position ] Maybe you're an ex-con, or a guy who grew up in the circus with a specialization in archery.

[ ...she doesn't know why she mentions that ]

permavid; encrypted 70%

[arches]

<sub>( He reacts almost without thinking; turning on the video and glaring. Those details, while not precisely right, hit too close to home for it to be a coincidence. And it's not as if this place hasn't screwed with him enough already.

So, a sight for you, Kate-- Clint seated at a cafe, wearing his SHIELD-issue jacket over less traditional kedan clothing. The lines of his face are hard as he looks dangerously at the screen. )</sub>

Who are you?

_{( The tone of his voice makes it clear she'd better answer, and quickly. )}

[notahawkingbird]

[ She'd been joking. It's not like she was hoping it was Clint on the other end of the line except--

--except that he'd offered his name. ]

Boss?

[ The tone of her voice is shaky and unsure. Way to go and not answer the man's question, Kate. ]

[arches]

_{( The title doesn't register with him. It's something he jokingly calls Fury, never a word that he's addressed by. So he steers past it. )}

Who. Are. You.

[notahawkingbird]

[ He doesn't know you, Kate. The realization is like a punch in the gut. ] My name is Kate Bishop. [ This wasn't her mentor. No matter that they shared the same face and name. Small wonder he looked like he wanted to shoot something. Probably her. ] Up until a few weeks ago, I was a Young Avenger called Hawkeye.

[ She lifts her gaze and looks him straight in the eye. ] Just yesterday I was working a job side-by-side with Clint Barton; my mentor and the person who first carried my name. [ There's a stress when she mention's Clint's name and the title she regards the older man by and she pauses to let that information sink in. When she speaks again, she adds, softly: ]

Look, I apologize for startling you.

You're obviously not him.

[arches]

Hawkeye. <sub>( He says his own name experimentally, like the word's never crossed his lips before. He knows that the Young Avengers exist, knows that there are other worlds. But for some reason it never quite registered that there was another him out there. Another Clint Barton. Another Hawkeye. And now, this.

She's a kid, Barton. Get it together. He wonders, idly, what his other self is thinking. Bringing a teenager into a gig like his. What an idiot he must be. But then Clint just shakes his head. )</sub>

No, I'm not. But I am Clint Barton. And that is my codename you're using.

[notahawkingbird]

[ She can't help but crack a smile at that last statement, because right here and now? Feels like an odd and edited re-run of an episode in her life. ]

This'll be lost on you, but I'm having a major déjà vu moment here.

[ She makes a face. ] Damn, if this is going to be an issue that your other self clearly found fit not to make, do I have to change my name to Hawkingbird?

[arches]

_{( He quirks an eyebrow at that name. He doesn't know Mockingbird, so obviously the reference is lost on him. )}

It's not going to be an issue. Because I don't do the whole mentor-protegee thing.

[notahawkingbird]

[ Right. ] As the reference is lost on you, forget I said anything.

And I wasn't implying anything about a mentor-protegee thing [ she crosses her arms loosely over her chest and offers a smirk ] I'm a big girl and can handle myself.

But if you use that codename as much as I do, it might be weird having people calling out to either of us and meaning the other. [ JSYK, she's not giving it up. ]

[arches]

Kid, it's my codename. I know don't what the hell the Barton you knew was thinking, but it's not the kind of thing I'm going to pass on. It's not a name you want to be trotting around with.

_{( There's a subtle warning in his words. )}

[notahawkingbird]

[ She hears it -- she doesn't care much for it. Nor does she care much for the way he calls her 'kid'. ]

Considering that I've been trotting around with the name for awhile now, I have the right to resent that statement.

[ and because this... this guy is questioning Clint (how does that even work, really) barely a day after the older Hawkeye had asked her for a team-up, Kate finds that her blood is up ]

As for what Clint was was probably thinking, he was probably remembering that I had the guts to get my bow back [ well, Clint's really and then hers after ] after he'd confiscated it from me [ lost it to him in a bet, but she isn't going to go spilling that to this grumpy old dude ] the same gear Captain America gave his blessing for me to carry because I was good enough to keep the tradition and the name alive.

[ She refuses to look like a teenager throwing a tantrum. She is not going to get worked up about this. Not in front of this guy, anyway. ]

I'm as much Hawkeye as you are. It's not just a name. It's what I do. And since we've clearly established your not my boss, there's no reason I have to listen to what you have to say.

[ The feed cuts from Kate's end, her fingers hitting the 'disconnect' before she can think otherwise.

Yep. A real mature move, that one. But no one's there to see or criticize, so she just kind of buries her face in her hands. ]