Scientific Progress goes 'Boink'

[smartass_captain]

There's a message stuck to a door, last door on the left of a certain apartment complex in a certain New York. It's replicated paper, definitely a different sort of feel to it than one would expect in 2013.

Paper isn't the preferred message delivery device in the 2250s. Replicated paper and replicated ink.

Clint

Head to my place when you get this. Bring Ver.

Bones knows you're coming, he'll get you where you need to go. Don't bring your bow, we're not leaving home.

See you soon hopefully,

Jim


((Feel free to post without me until you guys actually get through the door to the Enterprise. I'm stuck in training/meetings and won't have another solid break for 2.5/3 hours from now. Will post actively after that time.))

Comments

Much love for the Calvin and Hobbes reference.

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint saw the note on his way out for groceries. Reading it, he realized Barney would have to go out for groceries. "Hey, Barney!"

After a brief conversation, some brotherly wheedling and wrangling (better not to ask who did which), Barney left to go flirt with the neighbor and invite her grocery-shopping, while Clint dialed Verity's number into his phone. Nexus-Verity. How weird would it be if he cold-called his world's Verity instead? Don't do that, Clint.

Math is the new religion: http://bit.ly/1iMGrcu

[brave_heart_verity]

If he ever called the wrong Verity, he'd be hung up on. It wouldn't actually be a crisis situation because Verity would assume it's a telemarketer and go back to drinking.

But this Verity, the one he's calling, knows better. "Hey, Clint. What's up?"

You always have the perfect link.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Hey, Verity. Got a note from Jim, he wants to talk, says I should bring you. You busy?" Clint's leaving out the "you don't need your bow" part, he's tempted to bring it anyway given how last time went.

I do try. :)

[brave_heart_verity]

"What would I be doing?" Geez, Clint. "We really need to get Jim a phone."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Well, I didn't wanna assume." Clint chuckles. "You'd think his fancy spaceship'd have one, right?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"I'd like to think the technology's advanced. But he doesn't seem to be any kind of a cyborg or have brain-enhancing implants or anything. It's super disappointing." She's a little weird. "Where do we meet?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Why would they make him a cyborg if they didn't need to?" It's a question that honestly puzzles Clint. What kind of person would take their perfectly-serviceable self and chop parts off or plug bits in to go all Robocop? "Uh, I'm at my place, we could meet up here, if that's good for you?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"You'd think someone would put a leash on him." But she'd still totally get implants if that were a thing that wouldn't somehow make her super easy to mind control or force her to work for Hydra or something. "Yeah, okay. I'll be there soon."

'Soon' being a relative term given the distances sometimes involved in these walks. But she is there soon, knocking on his door and wondering if he's figured out yet that he could have met her partway and saved them both some time.

[aw_hawkguy]

He could have, yes, but no visit to Casa del Clint is complete without complementary coffee and a somewhat weatherbeaten smile when he opens the door. "Hey. Coffee? The way Jim talked about space coffee, you might wanna."

[brave_heart_verity]

Has he been drinking out of the pot again? He and his brother are, well, she feels safer being the one who made the coffee is all. On the other hand... yes, she'll take the coffee. "Thanks. So what is this about?"

[aw_hawkguy]

He shows her the note. He's decided that she can tell better than he can whether the "don't bring your bow" line is one to obey. "Not sure. I'm guessing it's about the math, but he doesn't say for sure. He could be planning a surprise party for all I know."

He pauses, adding, "if it's your birthday or something, and he is, and I just ruined it, I am so sorry."

[brave_heart_verity]

"My birthday's next week," she points out, "so this would be early for a party." Hint, hint.

She looks over the note and then takes a minute to think. "You're right, it's probably about the math. And you guys wouldn't start another bar fight with me around, right?"

[aw_hawkguy]

Hint taken! Wow, the world is gonna end right after her birthday, that sucks. He is gonna have to do something really nice.

"I wouldn't. I promise."

[brave_heart_verity]

Yeah, there's not really a card for that at Hallmark.

"So no need for weapons or my preparing a good 'I told you so' speech."

[aw_hawkguy]

Hallmark-616 needs to get on that.

"I dunno, the way our luck goes, you might want that speech on stand-by," Clint half-jokes.

[brave_heart_verity]

They wouldn't have room what with the expanded sympathy section they rolled out: "I'm only sorry if he's really dead", "sorry he came back as his own evil clone", "sorry she was a LMD the whole time (but really that should have been obvious)", "sorry I ate your planet"...

"What makes you think I don't always have a couple ready for you?" She's totally serious. She's bossy and a planner, of course she's got a couple good generic "I told you so"s waiting.

"Ready to go?

[aw_hawkguy]

We need some of those cards in the real world.

Clint laughs. "What, you were a girl scout? Be prepared, an' all that? Yeah, I'm ready." Downing the last of his coffee, he gets the door.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Me, a girl scout? Hardly. But I know you."

Back to the Nexus?

[aw_hawkguy]

"Ha ha, ouch. Got me there." Back to the Nexus, and then to Jim's scary door.

[brave_heart_verity]

She's never been, so she's surprised when she sees it. It does put certain things into their proper perspective.

"Is... is that safe?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"It was last time?" he offers. "I'll go first, if you want."

[brave_heart_verity]

"You're the one they know," she points out. He's free to go first.

[smartass_captain]

Clint's done this whole song and dance before.

It will take him a couple tries to get it right--since it lacks a proper control switch the magic way to open the door is to slip his hand against the glass about a third of the way up the door from the floor.

Right about laying down on the floor reaching up level.

Don't think about that too hard. Really, don't. You are? Too late then. You can't un-know that little glimpse of trauma.

The good news? The door does finally open. As in, lets them onto the ship instead of just stuck in the radiation blast door area. Engineering is much the same as it was the last time Clint was here--full of jeffries tubes and the constant hum of the engines.

That little guy from before shows up in short order, pulling his goggles off to stare at him with large black eyes. That's not a window, Clint didn't come in through a window, and this little guy thinks you're an idiot, Barton.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Hey," Clint greets the little guy. "How's it goin'?" Gesturing to Verity, he adds, "this's a friend."

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity watches Clint try and try at the door, and is glad he figures it out without their having to think about the hows and whys too much.

The little black-eyed fellow gets a smile from her. "Hello. I'm Verity."