[Homeplot 2009] Secret Invasion

[forhawkeye]

Have you ever have a dream that was so vivid, so extraordinarily detailed that, despite the fact it was also so utterly absurd, it somehow didn't make it seem any less real? That's what Tabula Rasa was for me. Months of memories and experiences...all of it the result of a knock to the head.

I never left the invasion.

All around me is chaos. Skrulls and heroes and villains alike, all fighting for control of the planet, and the sound -- oh my God, the sound -- is deafening. I wince as I pull myself up from the ground, absently noting that I'm in full uniform. And why shouldn't I be? I never left the invasion. And so all those people I knew...they were all figments of my imagination. Nate, Serena, Alice, Mikal, Yorick, Remy... I always assumed Felix wasn't real, anyway, so he doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it makes perfect sense, now, how there could possibly be a Tony Stark who hadn't betrayed everyo--

"HAWKEYE, LOOK OUT!" yells Patriot -- Eli -- and he's already running towards me before I have a chance to react. In what feels like slow motion, I turn to see what I'm supposed to be looking out for, but I don't register what it is until after he's shoved me out of the way, and the ground behind us is engulfed in fire, courtesy of a Skrull Human Torch. "What the hell's wrong with you?!" he asks, though the edge of panic in his voice is all too clear, and he grabs me by the shoulders. "Now's not the time to get PTSD -- we haven't even gotten to the 'post' part yet!"

I nod mutely. A few seconds pass before I find my voice again. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it," he says.

A Skrull falls dead beside us. We both turn to see who's responsible, and we're greeted with a loud whoop as a grinning Bullseye pumps his fist in the air and dives back into the fray. I feel like I'm going to be sick. Instead I clear my throat and stand up straight, shoulders back. "I'm fine."

The corners of his mouth quirk upwards in a smile, and he nods approvingly. Well, at least one of us is convinced. I guess that's better than nothing, right? Giving my shoulders one last squeeze, he then takes a step back and nods towards the fight. "Let's get to work."

"Yeah," I say, reaching into my quiver to draw an arrow. "Let's."

Comments

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

Cable had come through the battle mostly unscathed but he was somewhat annoyed that he hadn't manged to seize a ship for himself.

He had tried to make up for it by grabbing some pieces of destroyed technology but he wasn't sure they were intact enough to do any good.

That done, he went looking for Kate.

"Tony Stark?" he said in place of any greeting when he spotted her.

[forhawkeye]

"Better than Osborn," I reply, eyebrows raised. For as exhausted as I am right now, it's not a choice I regret by any means, and that's entirely reflected in my posture.

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

"I gave you my opinion on that before," he replied.

He wasn't going to lecture her about time-lines, largely because he wasn't sure the same rules still applied right now. There were too many oddities. But he still wasn't convinced she'd made the right choice.

[forhawkeye]

There's no denying that Cable's a big guy. Like, I'm pretty sure I look like a Hobbit standing next to him. Making eye contact alone means I have to tilt my head way back. Really, he's the sort of guy who, if he gives his opinion, a normal person would generally listen to it, no questions asked.

Yeah, so I might not have powers, but I've never been one to just get in line and do what I'm told. Taking a step towards him, I say, "And I've just given you mine."

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

Cable smiled at that. It wasn't a comforting sight.

"So you did."

If he had caught her before she did anything then he might have shouted and lectured to try and get his point across. But it was too late to change things now, which meant he had to keep his cool. Making too big a fuss would just make it look like things were out of his control, like he hadn't seen it coming.

"You could have taken the shot yourself, of course," he mused in a low voice without taking his eyes off her.

[forhawkeye]

"The thought had occurred to me," I admit, not backing down. Ronin would probably say the same thing, if in a more 'you miss 100% of the shots you don't take' sort of way. As far as I'm concerned, though, that wasn't my shot to take. "But Obama's not about to put a kid in charge."

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

"So you play King-maker," he rattled off as if he was explaining something to her rather than the other way round. "Or King-preserver in this case."

"And maybe you get to call in some favors down the line."

It struck him as decidedly un-ambitious.

[forhawkeye]

"This wasn't about getting favors or personal gain," I say, voice rising, and I fling out an arm to gesture to our largely destroyed surroundings. "This was about making sure a mass murderer didn't get the keys to the %$(!ing kingdom."

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

"If that's the case," he replied, "then maybe you had the wrong target killed."

[forhawkeye]

"And what the h--" I cut myself off abruptly, and hold up a hand to stop him right there. Arguments with authority figures are sort of my forte, but I have more pressing concerns than defending something that's already happened. "You know what? I'm not having this conversation. I have a boatload of people I need to make sure are still alive, and I don't regret what I've done, regardless of your opinion. You don't like my decision? Go get yourself a time machine."

I stalk past him so I can go do something that actually matters at this point: finding my friends.

"I'm sure the X-Men have one rattling around their basement."

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

"You should still think about calling in those favors, Kate," he told her as she walked away. "It might come in handy."