For the life of me I cannot remember

[red_in_ledger]

Who: Clint Barton and Natalia Romanova
When: After they escape leave from Loki's party
Where: Avengers' Tower
What: No matter the universe, they will always bond

Comments

[agenthawk]

Clint had dodged out of that weird excuse for a 'party' (with some scripted excuse about going to use the bathroom or something, he didn't remember) as quick as possible. Waking up here had been bizarre anyway and there seemed to just be the five of them but no adults. Why was he here? What had happened? Where was his brother? These were the questions that nagged at the back of his mind constantly so to distract himself he'd studied his...well whoever these people were.

Steve and Bruce seemed normal enough. Just as confused as him, though. He didn't give too much thought to them.

That Loki kid, however, was a different story. He set off all sorts of alarms in Clint's head. There was just something so very off about him. He wouldn't answer questions and the way he worded things was odd. Clint didn't like him, nor did he trust him.

Clint had learned to rely on his instincts about people. They generally seemed to be right.

Natalia set off his suspicions too. Though with her he couldn't pinpoint what exactly. She seemed innocent enough. Some accent he couldn't pinpoint and very pretty red hair. By all accounts she should've been put in the same category as Steve and Bruce. However, Clint couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something different about her too. He couldn't say what it was.

But the fact that she was taking apart cameras lent some validation to his theory. He only saw a split second of this action before she caught him watching.

"...Hey."

[red_in_ledger]

Cussing viciously in her head, Natalia turned a smile onto the quiet boy. Clint, she believed he had given as his name. The cussing increased as she caught where his gaze had been. She was going to have to double her guard around this one.

"Hello," she replied quietly. "Clinton, da? You did not stay long at the party." Not that she was surprised. He had kept to himself throughout the awkward get together; it made sense that he would slip away when he could.

She hunched slightly in on herself as she stepped toward him, making herself appear smaller within the oversized clothes. "In truth, I am glad to not be alone," she continued as she reached his side. "Back home, there are stories of what rich Westerners do with young girls." She cast a significant glance at the dissembled camera--no sense in pretending it wasn't there when she had been seen--before shuddering. "With Mama and Papa gone...I am very much glad to not be alone."

[agenthawk]

"Right."

The shift in her entire demeanor was quick and almost unnoticeable. From 'girl on a mission' to 'please protect me I'm scared'. It was impressive and for a moment, Clint wondered (she did seem pretty small and vulnerable)...but that suspicious feeling wouldn't leave him. Clint had always been good at noticing things others missed. His brother got a little frustrated at him for it, claiming he could never keep anything from him. Despite all that Clint did rely on this ability to read his father's ever shifting moods. It had helped him more than once.

His eyes flicked back to the dismantled camera.

Yeah, there was something going on here.

"It's Clint. And you seemed pretty set on being alone, since you left the party...or whatever that was."

[red_in_ledger]

Natalia dropped her gaze, shrinking back from the accusation. "Not alone," she replied, injecting a touch of anxiety into her tone. "Just...away." She met his stare for a moment, as if experiencing a surge of bravery from the contradiction, before dropping it again.

"The Loki boy...I do not like him. He is--there is something wrong there. I do not know the words for what." Her expression changed to one of pleading, wanting to be believed. "I did not want to be around him. But that does not make me not wanting to be alone a lie."

[agenthawk]

"Well yeah, guy's an A-list creep and he knows something. Can't blame you from wanting to be away from him"

So she wasn't and idiot and didn't like that Loki character. He liked her much better already, even if the whole 'shy' thing was annoying and a bit off putting. He probably wouldn't find it nearly as obnoxious if he believed that it wasn't an act. He gestured to the half-dismantled camera.

"So, you think he's behind that?"

[red_in_ledger]

Smiling slightly at Clint's words, Natalia nodded her agreement. "And you do not seem to be...how you say, a creep? I hope I am not wrong."

Natalia chewed on her lip as she tried to decide how to answer. An ally would be good, even if he was American, but she wasn't sure how much of her abilities she wanted to reveal. There were only so many talents she could show before she had to abandon her current persona.

"I do not know," she eventually replied. "He was unable to set up the game, earlier. Technology seems to confuse him. He may be with the one who set them up, but no, I do not think he would be able to hide cameras."

[agenthawk]

Ah, there was some of the real her after all. He liked what little version he saw of this instead of the shrinking violet she was pretending to be. He considered what she said thoughtfully, he had arrived later than everyone else and while he didn't seen first hand Loki's lack of technology smarts, it made sense. Loki had been bossing Bruce around to set everything up while he stood by.

He nodded, "Yeah that makes sense. But then that still leaves the mystery of who kidnapped a bunch of kids and set up cameras to watch them."

There was a short silence while both thought about this information before Clint broke it, "I don't think I caught your name."

[red_in_ledger]

A host of false names fluttered through her head before she answered. "Talia," she offered. It was close to her real name, yes, but circumstances being what they were, she wanted the ease of remembrance. No need to add another set of problems. "Two parts. Tal-ya." She frowned slightly. "Americans always get it wrong."

She glanced up at the wall. "Is not so strange, doing both," she added. "If you kidnap kids, and do not stay with them, you need to watch, yes? Make sure they do not wander off, before you do what is purpose." Her frowned deepened. "I suppose is better, we do not see them. More likely we survive this. We see faces, we die once they get what they want. No way to tell on them."

Natalia forced herself to stop talking. She was normally so good at sticking to her cover. This wasn't her first time in the field. Not even her first time improvising. Was it truly so different, going in blind? "Mama says I read too many mystery books," she said, giving Clint a shy smile. "And my...the English, I do not know, fantasy? dream? is too big. Too much?" She shook her head. "I could be all wrong. Real life is not like stories, after all."

[agenthawk]

"Talia" He tested it out for good measure, making sure he followed her instructions on how to pronounce it. He found he liked it. It had sort of a musical tone to it that her accent brought out even further. His voice made it sound sort of flat and boring by comparison but that wasn't something new.

He followed her gaze and listened carefully as her tone and demeanor shifted once more to something self-assured and intelligent. That alone made him believe her, because she wasn't acting or lying. She was puzzling over this just as much as he was (even more, really). Not that he liked what was being said, it send shivers down his spine. What exactly was this girl involved in, he wondered.

But then the act snapped back into place and Clint felt himself getting irritated with it. And by extension, her. Talia must have figured he was an idiot if she didn't think he'd notice. He felt a bit insulted, really.

"You can cut it out, you know." He snapped, a bit harsher than he meant to, he toned back a bit though his irritation was still clear. "I'm not buying the act."

[red_in_ledger]

Natalia stared at the boy a moment, surprised, before letting out a long string of Russian curses. Denying the accusation occurred to her briefly, but she discarded the idea. This boy was sharper than the others, and it might be to her benefit to have someone who knew more of the truth.

Before she answered, however, something else caught her eye. Holding onto the persona of a scared girl for just a minute longer, she widened her eyes and spread her hands, stepping closer to Clint. "I do not know what it is you are talking about," she pleaded. Almost there. "What act?"

Close enough, now, and Natalia grabbed the boys hands, pulling him close to her. "Audio sensors," she whispered, lips barely brushing his ear, before backing away slightly. She gestured at the one nearest her to show him what they looked like, and then whipped around toward it, smashing the heel of her hand into it and destroying it. Turning back, she pointed out three others she had seen, before moving to eliminate the next one.

[agenthawk]

Clint barely had the time to relish his victory over her and the surprise he'd inflicted before she was in his personal space. Way too close for comfort. Sure, there was the fact that she was very pretty, the red-hair, accent. Any boy his age would be attracted. Everything about her screamed pretty. But now that the act had been dropped, Clint could also see his senses about her being dangerous were accurate.

That and he really didn't like people in his personal space. It always meant trouble.

His eyes widened as she pulled him closer and he almost missed what she'd said; but he caught sight of what she'd been indicating at and when Natalia went to destroy it he broke out of his stupor and found one to take out. Not nearly with the grace or the precision she had, but he got the job done nonetheless.

After they were all gone, he turned to her, "So who are you really?"

[red_in_ledger]

Turning on her heel, Natalia eyed Clint. "I'm classified," she replied with a grin. "You can keep calling me 'Talia'. It is good enough, and that would be for the best, calling me what all the others do."

Her brow furrowed. "I am also a very stupid person to steal," she continued. "And definitely not someone who should be left to wander after being stolen." Her frown deepened. "This situation gets more confusing as I learn. It fits no normal patterns for kidnapping." Natalia turned her full attention back to him, appraising him. "Would you be useful in helping me figure this out?" she asked bluntly.

[agenthawk]

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Clint gave a short shrug, examining her handiwork on the devices with admiration. Yeah...whoever had picked her to kidnap had certainly not done their homework. He couldn't say the same for himself. He was hardly worth kidnapping, his parents weren't rich, nor would they hardly notice if he was gone. Barney probably would but he wasn't exactly financially able to pay anyone for him back.

The mysteries kept compounding on top of one another and Clint didn't like it. Though at least one mystery was somewhat solved: 'Talia.

"Sure. I notice things. Things that most people don't." He nodded in her direction, the statement and the truth behind it already proven. He'd seen through her act, after all.

[red_in_ledger]

Nodding once, Natalia turned her attention to the the ceiling. She had noted the vents in this place earlier, and they certainly seemed wide enough and supported enough to allow the passage of a few teens.

Standing underneath it, Natalia jerked her chin toward it. "If I boost you, do you think you could get up there?" she asked. "I want to get off-grid, see what I can find out outside of the proscribed area."

[agenthawk]

"Sure," Clint glanced up at where she was indicating and he figured she had a point. There was less of a chance that they would be watched there. Unless whoever had kidnapped them was a special sort of paranoid. Who knew? Better to take their chances either way.

He placed one foot on top of her laced fingers and with no warning, she boosted him up to the vent. Clint struggled briefly to find purchase and get the rest of the way it. It was neither graceful nor particularly quick (the slightly oversized clothes being the only things he could find that morning did not help in the least), but he succeeded in getting in eventually.

Clint briefly thought about turning around and lending a hand to 'Talia, but 1, trying to turn around was going to be far more trouble than it was worth and 2, considering what he'd watch her do just a few moments ago, it was every indication that she hardly needed the help.

[red_in_ledger]

"Move down a bit, yes?" she called up, dropping all attempts at an American accent. No point now, and it was such an annoying one to keep up. She backed up a few paces, carefully eyeing the room and the vent above.

Once she was reasonably sure the immediate vent area was sufficiently clear, she burst into movement. She ran back those few paces, building momentum before she jumped, one foot pushing off the table toward the bookshelf near the vent, the other striking the bookshelf and launching her toward the hole in the ceiling. She was lucky; her hands found a grip immediately, and she was able to use the rest of her momentum to pull her back half in one fluid motion, feet not even banging the sides.

Glancing forward, she met Clint's eyes as he looked back at her, and she found herself grinning, inordinately pleased that her trick had paid off so well. Her arms would not thank her for this, and she probably could not pull it off again so cleanly, but there was something to be said for making a good impression.

Natalia jerked her chin down the vent. "Lead on," she said, nudging Clint forward.