‹ MCMLXXXII ›

War? War never changes. War doesn't decide who is right, only who is left.

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“Thank god. Do you know how long I’ve been sitting here? I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if I knew hard time was an option. Just.. please tell me you’ve got a lawyer. Or eight.”

[doyoufeelbuckypunk-blog]

Walking down the sidewalk, it wasn’t a big deal. Walking down the stairs, it wasn’t a big deal. But then at the sudden pop of bubblegum behind him, he missed a step, reflexively put his hand out to grab the railing, and took it with him. Bye bye railing. Railing now twisted metal. Just like his soul. Barnes straightened up, and began to push through the crowd, away from the mangled chrome remains of the railing.

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“Now, I know that railing’s been asking for it for weeks, but you really should’ve given him at least a fighting chance.” She’d watched the whole thing unfold from the depths of the crowd and, unlike most, wasn’t surprised when the railing lost the battle against his grip. And, still unlike most, she found herself picking up her stride to match his own heavily paced one and meeting the glares of others with a glare of her own. One that shouldn’t have been tempted. “You look like you need a coffee. Or six. First one’s on me?”

[ofeideticisms]

Babs raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” She then takes in the woman, before nodding. “Oh, I see now.” She knows who the woman is, Bobbi Morse, and it makes sense for her to deal with wounds and bruises like that. She shakes her head, letting out a soft laugh. “Oh, really? Well, I’m just going to have to head on home then. Guess I took a trip out here for nothing.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“You see what?” Her lips, now twisted with a sense of intrigue and confusion, parted to take in air before she took a seat on the bottom step of the northern stairwell. “There’s no guy in apartment D. It's a woman. Three kids, one dog. I know because her kids are always running up and down the hallway at the strangest hours of the day. You didn't actually come here looking for a friend, did you?”

[bartxnbartoff-blog]

Clint waved off the apology. He forgot too, sometimes. “How could I forget? I’m still paying Anderson back.” He stood, and nodded in the appropriate direction.

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“Anderson is robbing you blind, Clint. He should’ve been paid off months ago. He ups the ante every time a payday rolls around. It’s like he knows keeping track of things is your weakness when you’re not in mission mode.” Her hands fumbled with the keys that had been pressed to the center of her palm, moving her way into the hallway before nodding towards the stairwell on her left. “Car’s out back. Don’t ask why.”

[demons-fury]

“Yes,” she replied to her first question quite simply. She often broke into people’s residences. She was an assassin, after all. The remainder of Bobbi’s threats seemed idle to Nyssa. While she was a perfectly capable woman in combat - after all, she’d seen it with her own two eyes - she was also injured. Nyssa highly doubted that she would be able to perform as well as she would under different circumstances. “I’m here to learn more about the origin of that wound,” she stated, “to be clear, who inflicted it and with which weapon.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

What? Her eyes widened with surprise for a moment before they darted to the window that she could’ve sworn she’d locked before she left. Or maybe she hadn’t. Clint’s building was safe enough -- at least she thought it was. “Are you studying the origin of wounds or something for your college course, Nyssa? Why the hell does it -- how the hell did you know I had the wound in the first place?” More importantly, why did she want to know who inflicted the wound? “This isn’t weaponry 101. Why does any of that matter to you?”

[justcallmehawkeye]

“At least ice it, then, come on.” She shakes her head, then heads towards the kitchen. “People being rough with you, huh?”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“I don’t --” need any ice. But instead of finishing her sentence she let in exhale fall where the words should’ve, trailing after her into the kitchen she felt all too familiar with. “Not intentionally. The majority of it was miscalculation on my part -- I underestimated the agent-to-be. Knocked me on my ass. It was.. impressive. While you’re rummaging through the freeze, mind telling me if he’s got alcohol stashed away somewhere?”

[witchcalledwanda-deactivated201]

Wanda nodded to confirm her identity and pressed her lips together. She examined the wound again briefly before responding to her inquiry. “Is going well… But I suppose I am fortunate that I don’t get wounds like that when I am running late.” she said

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“It’s bound to happen one day. Running into Starbucks to grab coffee, you think you’re out of the way and then the door shuts on you and clips your back a bit. Not surprising. I’m just surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.” She pointed to the sign above her, then to the barista in front of her before giving a short shrug or her shoulders. “You thirsty?”

[doyoufeelbuckypunk-blog]

“No. You wanna put something over that?”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

She opened her mouth to say no for the second time, but instead opted for a head nod. Ice and air clearly wasn’t helping her at this point. “S’ppose it wouldn’t kill me. There’s lotion at the end of the desk if you wouldn’t mind tossing that my way.” And then, “You always here this late, Barnes? Or are you avoiding Chinese take out and Netflix as much as I am?”

[ofeideticisms]

She’s still concerned though, but she gives the woman a nod. “If you’re sure you’re okay,” she starts, then shrugs. “I was going to surprise a friend but they’re not in right now. So I was just wondering around.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“It’s nothing I haven’t taken care of before.” The statement, no matter how short it may have been, was one that signified she was okay and not entirely ready to continue the concern that seemed to be oozing off her. “Oh yeah? If it’s the man in D, he hasn’t been home in a few days. You may be here for awhile.”

[demons-fury]

“Your wound is peculiar,” Nyssa said, emerging from the darkness, “however, before you chide me for breaking into your apartment, I must inform you that it was quite easy to do so, and that my business here is amicable.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“It’s funny that you think you have business here. You do this often. Nyssa? Break into people’s apartments and think you have business there? You’ve got two seconds to explain what the hell you’re doing here, how the hell you knew to find me here, and why the hell I shouldn’t put you through the window you came in from. Better hope to god your answer is a lot faster than I am.”

[doyoufeelbuckypunk-blog]

“Needs cream.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“Nah, it could be worse. It was worse. A little ice and it’ll be like it never happened. You need somethin?”

[witchcalledwanda-deactivated201]

Wanda frowned at the sight of her injury. “It looks painful,” she said, “I have a kit to dress the wound, if you want.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“It looks a lot worse than it is, really. Should’ve seen it a few days ago. It’s more of an irritant now -- guess that’s what I get for running late to work. Wanda, right? How’s your transition been going?”

[smol-red--robin-blog]

“Um, no, it means the panda’s gonna pee on you if it’s doing a handstand against you.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“I’ll.. have to remember that the next time I see a panda. You know this from personal experience or through the public school system?”

[bartxnbartoff-blog]

Clint blinked at her. Then he reached up to his ears and flicked the switches to turn his hearing aids on. Then held a finger out as if to say ‘just a moment’. Seven…six…five…four…three…two…one. There. “What’s going on?”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

She forgot. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, signing a quick sorry before piping up once more. “New recruits come in today. We have the honors of gracing their initiation this morning and I’d like to get there before all bets are closed. Remember the last time we got the short end of the stick and ended up losing more money than it was worth?”

[justcallmehawkeye]

“What happened, Bobbi?” Kate asks, setting down her first aid kit next to her.

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“A little of this, a little of that. Work mostly. Nothing new. There’s no need for a first aid kit, Kate. It’s just a bruise. Give it a couple of days, it’ll heal. Not like I’ve lost a limb but.. thank you.”

[ofeideticisms]

“Oh, shit, are you okay?”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

“Flesh wound. It’ll heal. Thanks though, for the concern. You always go wandering around apartment buildings or.. is this new?”

[theblackcanarybird]

Sara didn’t really care for working in a bar but in all honesty, it was the only thing she could do since besides from going to college and being an assassin, bar work from the old bar Verdant in Star City was all she knew how to do. So, working in a dark gritty bar in Hell’s Kitchen was just a way to survive.

Wiping the bar, she walked over to one of the very few patrons left. “C’mon buddy, it is closing time. Last orders or you are out.”

[tokillamockingbxrd-blog]

It was amusing, really, to see the new bartender call for last rounds at the small hole in the wall bar situated in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen. Even more amusing when all patrons of the bar refused to move from their seats and instead, turned their back in unison. “You ever hear the term, you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar?” she piped, from her end of the cracked wooden bar.

“That normally works with everything including bar hoppers. You’re new here, right? Try learning their names and treating them like humans instead of meal tickets. I’m no expert but that normally helps smooth out the closing process.”