last-czarnian:
âYou should. Most people who start givinâ me lip that quickly donât even get to finish their sentence.â Lobo assumed he did not need to explain why that was. His glare grew more pronounced at even a tease that he was any sort of poser. âSo thatâs what Earther guys do to prove theyâre tough? Pfft. Jerks. Iâve trained my whole damn life to do what I do, and there ainât nothinâ fake about me.â Gesturing over his body, he said, âEvery inch of this is real. And I do mean every inch.â Mentioning the Skrulls was not exactly the best way to make Lobo any less hostile, but if she was telling the truth about killing some of them, that would help a bit. âI sure hope thatâs true, âcause those fuckers deserve it. But then Iâm hopinâ to wipe 'em all out, so if you did waste a few, thatâs less for me to make suffer.â Still, hearing that made him give her just the tiniest amount of credit. Which was something. âTo count as a bounty kill, yeah. But that donât mean I donât keep my own personal kill list. Guyâs gotta have a hobby, after all.â Did it really count as a hobby if it was also what he did for a living? Lobo could have cared less, just as he could have cared less what she called herself. As if the âbest anythingâ on Earth was something to brag about. âSure. Whatever you wanna be, knock yourself out."Â
What, was she offended by the fact that he was looking? "Well, I do have another personal list thatâs almost as lengthy as my kill list,â Lobo said, giving her a wink, âKinda thought youâd be flattered, but hey, you Earthers are always confusinâ me.â He bristled at the dumbass nickname again, but her implying that he was too stressed was almost worth a bitter laugh. Him, too stressed? Really? Letâs see her try living with the destruction of her entire damn civilization on her conscience and see how she coped with it. âYoga? You fuckinâ kiddinâ me, babe?â Like he was the type to sit around and try to meditate. âSo you were a troublemaker, huh? Nice, but that still ainât gonna win my approval. I gotta see you actually do somethinâ besides run your mouth.â When she suddenly took up her bow and actually said she was going with him, Lobo held up his hands. âWhoa there honey. That was not an invitation to come along. I donât need no fragginâ sidekick.â The thought of her tagging along was ludicrous, yet if they did start getting attacked by demons, he would be interested to see her actually try and fight them. Especially if she could not get the job done. âLet me guess, you wanna try to prove you can beat me at rackinâ up kills?â He gave a sarcastic chuckle. âOh thatâll be the day. Ok sweetheart, Iâm game. But donât come cryinâ to me if you canât hack it.â
Kate grinned and curtsied. âI guess I just give better lip than most,â she noted, smirking wide. He clearly had a screw or two loose, and was pretty futzing far from a hero -- but he was out here, that had to count for something, right? Besides, judging books by their cover? Not cool. Kate learned that one with Lorna. âAll right there, pal, letâs cool the jets for a minute,â she said, but she laughed anyway. He was amusing, if nothing else, even if he was crude and insulted her every other word. Sheâd dealt with way worse. âOh, donât worry. She suffered,â she murmured, voice growing a little dark for a moment. She had never felt hate like that moment when she saw the Skrull version of her standing over Clint. Ready to take him down, until Kate took the impossible shot. âYou ever think about, I donât know, stamp collecting? I hear antiques are all the rage these days,â she quipped. She put a hand on her hip, and brandished her bow with the other. âOh, honey. I am a knock-out. A knock-out who knocks motherfutzers out.âÂ
She laughed again, shaking her head slowly. âBuy me dinner first. You donât get to look for free. Plus, how old even are you, bro? That might be a little bit creepy, by Earth standards,â she said, but she was smiling goodnaturedly. ââHey, youâd be surprised about how calming it can be. And youâve clearly got a whole rage-thing going on, which Iâm sure gets exhausting,â she said, gesturing to him. She arched a brow, and notched an arrow. She aimed for a dark dot in the sky -- a demon, maybe, heading towards the sounds of their conversation. Kate took a breath, and let loose. She nodded behind him, holding up a finger. âWait for it,â she said, and counted to three in her head. When she got to one, the demon let out a distant screech, and plummeted to the ground. âHowâs that for putting my money where my mouth is?â she asked, grinning at Lobo. âGood thing Iâm no oneâs side kick then,â she said, a title sheâd actively avoided and been saddled with anyway, considering she shared Hawkeye with Clint. But she was his protege, not his sidekick, there was a total difference. âNot everything has to be a competition, Lobey. Futz, I didnât know toxic masculinity spread out to space already,â she said, rolling her eyes. âBut Iâm capable, youâre capable, and two heads are usually better than one. And I gave up crying a long time ago, okay,â she added, strapping the bow to her back and heading out, moving towards the direction of demon sheâd shot down.Â









