somethingtoavenge | Debrief 001 | [Action/Voice]

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Debrief 001 | [Action/Voice] | Déjà vu?

[Coulson wakes up, trees to his left and right and a path right in front of him. A short distance down the path and to the right he can see a house, actually he can see a few houses from where he is. Everything seems familiar.

The sensation of familiarity is disquieting at first, until everything comes back.

Well... that explains a lot.

Coulson looks around and spots his journal, but sadly there are no clothes this time. So he's stuck in the usual new feather garb of white pants. After being in dark suits for most of his life, he's not sure he likes those pants. With the nice new scar on his chest and back, he's not sure he likes the fact he's shirtless. Also, there is a chill in the air which makes being shirtless very uncomfortable.

Using the mountains and the river, both to his left, he manages to orient himself. With this knowledge he heads towards town center to visit the clothing shop and get dressed. You may run into him a he heads to the clothing shop. Feel free to notice the fresh looking scar almost directly over his heart (but not actually) and the bigger one on his back. Coulson may greet you, but mainly he's focusing on getting to the clothing shop. Unless things happen.]

((ooc; Location is over by House 4, just a short distance up the path leading towards the farmlands.))

[After getting clothes and after whatever adventures happen while he was getting clothing, Coulson puts together a first new post to the Luceti community.]

Greetings Luceti.

My name is Phil Coulson. I have been here before a few months back before... leaving and it seems I have returned.

As far as I know I don't have any unfinished business from before, but If I did have some with you please remind me.

I have probably missed a lot, but is there anyone whose willing to give me a brief summary of things I've missed? I'd be grateful.

[Small pause.]

I think that's all... No wait, Rogue, do you still need help at the item shop? Sorry for leaving you in the lurch.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He'd said it to Steve hadn't he? It was one thing to know that a person could come back from the dead here, and quite another to see it in front of him.

He stares at the video for a long time before he can reply, because what exactly do you say?

Sorry for planning and executing the attack that got you killed? Sorry for helping that bastard get onto the Helicarrier?

But there's only so long he can hold it off before he replies because he doesn't doubt that Coulson will find him.]

Not like you to be unsure of details like that, sir.

Edited 2012-11-08 22:03 (UTC)

[Coulson blinks in surprise. Is that...]

Barton?

[Because the last time he saw you, you were not yourself. But you are obviously not mind controlled anymore, so that's good.]

Well, I remember being here, but some things from right before I wasn't here anymore are foggy.

When did you get here?

In the flesh and in the mind too.

[Foggy? That's never a good thing in his experience.]

Couple of months ago. Already been drafted once.

[Well, obviously. But the fact you have to reassure him of that fact is odd.]

Good to see you as yourself again. [Coulson give Clint a half-smile.]

When are you from?

[Because that is always a valid question. Especially here.]

That long... You must have arrived shortly after I... left.

[Coulson assumes that the fogginess has more to do with where he went after he left than any ill effect.]

Well, y'know, the glowing blue eyes thing really wasn't doing it for me. [He manages a slight smile and then glances off to the side when Coulson has to go and ask that.]

Last thing I remember before here, I was doing my damn best to kill Tasha. For him.

[He shrugs dismissively at the next comment. It isn't really anything Coulson could help.]

Not the best look, no. [Deadpan face is deadpan.

Well. That sucks.]

I didn't realize you two met up.

[With anyone else, this would be an awkward moment. Since it is Coulson and Clint, it's more a thoughtful silence.]

Well, I assume you know what happened after your point. [Like Coulson dying.]

How is the situation in Luceti?

[Because if there is anyone he can truly trust to give a good report it's Barton.]

[That gets a smirk from Clint, because at least that hasn't changed.]

I was on my way to detention after disabling a second engine. She caught up to me on the way. [Otherwise he might have been fighting against the Avengers in New York, instead of alongside them.]

Yeah. They told me.

[And he might be keeping his expression as blank as possible but it's hard when Coulson is here. He switches to a filter for his report.]

There was a draft last week. Fighting cultists in Vasakoth. There was some kind of infection passed on through blood and saliva. It turned them into, well, zombies is the best way to describe it. They lost all rational thought, focused entirely on attacking those who were uninfected.

Captain Rogers was one of the casualties, sir. He escaped containment and James Barnes delivered a kill shot.

Things have been a little subdued since.

[He swallows because there's another piece of information he should deliver. He just doesn't want to, not to Coulson, but he probably deserves to know more than anyone. Later maybe, when they can meet in person.]

[Deadpan Phil will never, ever change. Unless mind control. Wait, to soon?]

Ah, is that when she bashed you in the head? Steve said all it took was a good hit to the head to bring you and Selvig back to normal.

[Oh, that was not a good expression. That almost but not quite blank. It seems he and Clint will have to have a serious face to face talk about everything.

Later.]

...Zombies. [What is this. Coulson process all this before reaching a conclusion.]

Right then. There is a lot of information to process here. Where are you, I want to have a face to face.

[Because there is not enough security for him to discuss zombie over the journal, among other things. And don't think he didn't notice you not saying something. Because he did.]

Yeah, that's it. She hit my head against the railing. Things got a little fuzzy after that. Don't remember if I was free or still Loki's. And then she hit me again.

[And she hits hard. He's grateful for it now if that's what knocked Loki out of his head.

He smiles wryly and nods.]

I didn't believe it myself. Trying to decide if it's more or less believable than alien gods.

[He lets out a soft breath and nods.]

Community House five, fifth floor. The rest of the floor are out right now.

Edited 2012-11-09 01:51 (UTC)

Ouch. Well, Natasha never does anything by a half...

[Coulson sighs.]

It's not believing it that is the problem. Zombies are just the worse possible scenario. [Wait, what. He has a scenario for zombies? Yes, he does. It involves that gun from R&D.]

Alright. I'll head on over.

Can't say I'm sad that she did it.

[Otherwise there's every chance that he'd still be Loki's goddam lapdog.

Clint has long since learnt to just accept that Coulson probably has plans for everything, up to and including an invasion by Sauron and a bunch of orcs. He probably has paperwork for it.]

I'll be waiting, sir.

No, I'm not sad she did it either.

[He doesn't want to think about Clint still being under Loki's thrall.

SHIELD has Paperwork for pretty much everything. Coulson has contingency plans for nearly everything. It's a beautiful symbiosis.]

Be there in a few.

------------

[Coulson arrives at CH5 a short time later and heads up to the fifth floor. It looks a lot like CH4, where he had been staying previously. Once he reaches the floor he check the Kitchen area. There he spots Clint.]

Barton.

[Coulson enters the kitchen, but he isn't dressed like normal. Instead he is in black slacks and a sweater. It's cold out, alright? And none of his injuries like the cold.]

Good to see you. [In the flesh and not under mind control.]

Edited 2012-11-09 02:45 (UTC)

[He would never say that it's a bad thing to have Coulson alive. That's about as far from the truth as he can get. And yet... hell he'd screwed up and he knows it. Not to mention the sick feeling he gets whenever he thinks that he's partially responsible. SHIELD Agents know that they could die at anytime, but it's not usually him pulling the trigger.

He stands up when Coulson enters, slipping into a more formal stance, hands clasped behind his back. It's not his normal reaction, but things aren't exactly normal.]

Coulson. I could say the same.

[And he's checking Coulson over even as he says it, noticing the different outfit and how he isn't standing as straight as he normally does. He doesn't like that one bit.]

[Phil frowns slightly, more in a worried-confused way than a you-have-failed-me way (It's all in the eyebrows), at Clint's change in stance.

Look like the incident has given Clint some emotional scars he'll have to talk him about. Not like it's the first time...

Just once Coulson would like a near world-ending disaster to not leave emotional scars on his Agents. They already have enough. That's why most of them are working for SHIELD.

The others were head-hunted.

The silence stretches to uncomfortable for one of the first times since they started working together.

Phil wants to make a joke. 'Really? You don't sound that thrilled.' But knows it would only fall flat.

Suddenly he feels very tired. It's as if all his years working for SHIELD, the stress of the job, the quiet guilt and grief at seeing Clint under Loki's control and not able to do a damn thing, and the impossible-but-has-to-be-true fact of his own death back home has become a massive physical burden, instead of an equally heavy but unacknowledged mental one.

Phil rubs his face tiredly, barely wincing even as the movement pulls on his still tender scars and ribs. Those wings are absolutely the worst thing for someone recovering from a sucking chest wound. Even one miraculously healed.]

I think we should drop the formality, don't you? This isn't a formal debrief, just.... just a catching up on things I should to know.

[A pause then the faintest of smiles and a bit of tired but genuine humor enters Phil's voice.]

Then again, maybe it should be a formal debrief, since you are rarely formal during those.

[I's one thing for everyone to say that he fought alongside them to defeat Loki, it's one thing to say that he was brainwashed and unable to control his own actions (and it wasn't like that, not exactly), but all of that means nothing when he's confronted with the proof that he got his own people killed.

He sees the wince that Coulson tries to hide, how drawn he looks and steps forward instantly, dragging out a chair.]

Christ, Coulson, sit down.

[He manages a small smile at the joke, a bare curl of his lips.]

Shouldn't you be celebrating that I finally learned how to do formal, sir?

Edited 2012-11-09 12:23 (UTC)

[Once Coulson gets the full story of everything that's happened, he is going to sit down and have a long talk with Clint about degree of blame in incidents of mind control. SHIELD has regulations about it, including mandatory counseling by a head agent. Clint's getting it even if SHIELD isn't here.

Phil takes the chair and sits down, careful to avoid jostling his wings which are tightly folded against his back. The ache is less if they are like that. Also they tend to react to his emotional state more than he liked. Which is another reason to keep them tightly folded.

Thank you.

[He raises an eyebrow at Clint.]

Normally? I'd be thrilled. Especially if it meant you handed in your paperwork on the correct form, not on napkins or post-its and done in the correct ink instead of the glitter purple gel pen you got from who knows where. [Only a few of the ways Hawkeye has turned in paperwork.] However, seeing as this is not home, the usual reactions need not apply.

Please, sit down. [This is obviously not an order. Coulson is going to get their new working, casual, whatever relationship sorted right now. There is no SHIELD here, so things must change accordingly.]

Edited (html fail *facepalm*) 2012-11-10 22:54 (UTC)

To be fair Sir, the napkins was only once and I was doped up on some pretty heavy drugs at that point. You're lucky I didn't try writing the report in blood on the bedsheet.

[That had not been his finest moment.

He sits down when prompted, back ramrod straight, gaze straight ahead and his wings folded tightly against his back.]

Sir?

You have a point. Glad you didn't do that since bedsheets are hard to file.

[That mission is in Phil's file of 'Top Twenty-five most FUBAR Missions'.

Right then. This painfully formal Clint was setting Coulson's already frayed nerves on edge. Coming back to life (back to Luceti) isn't easy but it doesn't matter because everyone he cares about has been hurt while he was gone. And so he must do everything to help them.

Clint formality almost hurts, but if it's what he needs right now then that's what he'll give him. Coulson makes himself sit straighter, even as it pulls uncomfortably.]

I believe you were going to tell me about what has happened. Specifically the zombie incident.

I'm sure you would have found a way, sir.

[He nods slowly, pulling together his thoughts on what had happened into some kind of logical report.]

We were drafted around 4am on the 25th. An hour to get to the transporters. We were taken to suppress an invasion by the Cultists in Vaskoth compound. There were draftees from other compounds there too. The Malnosso had amassed a significant force. We had to arm ourselves from the Vaskoth armoury. Couldn't take any of our own weapons.

Early on the 26th we received reports about the cultists displayed strange symptoms and later that day some of our own started taking sick with the same illness. Within twelve hours of infection, they'd lost their minds. They were faster, stronger and angry. Driven by rage and hunger, they'd attack anyone who opposed them. The doctors worked out that it was spread by blood, saliva.

I... cut myself on an arrow. Had a scare until Adele gave me the all clear.

[Some of the most tense moments of his life, waiting to find out whether he was going to turn into one of those creatures or not.]

[...There are not enough swear words in Coulson's vocabulary to properly capture his internal reaction to everything Clint has said so far.

Externally he is calm, like always. The only thing giving away that this information is disturbing and distressing to him is the slightest shifting of his wings.]

And Captain Rogers got infected. Then was shot by his best friend, Bucky Barnes.

[Phil breathes in. Somehow he thinks things are so much worse than just that. Everyone is too subdued. The close call Clint had along with everything else makes his gut clench in a rising tide of guilt, fear, and concern. For a moment he closes his eyes.]

I am relieved you were not infected.

[It's moment of bare honesty before he opens his eyes and pierces Clint with a knowing look.]

What else happened?

[There has more to the story than Clint is telling. It'll probably be distressing but he needs to know.]

Yes. They tried to keep him contained, but he broke out after succumbing to the virus. Barnes delivered the kill shot.

[He catches the movement, Coulson's eyes closing and for Coulson it's a huge tell. He's not used to that.]

Me too. I...I asked Adele to kill me, if it came to that, although Stark wasn't having any of it.

[And then they'd had to put those plans into practice with Steve instead. He's silent for a moment before answering.]

The Malnosso were going to bomb the compound. Thankfully the medical teams managed to find a cure before that.

As for the rest... it's not my place to tell. Ask Stark, if he wants to tell you.

Edited 2012-11-11 02:14 (UTC)

[A Super Solider infected with virus that made people stronger and faster and angry. Coulson is not surprised he escaped.]

I see.

[Coulson wants to take a quick breath in at Clint's reveal. However he does not, controlling his breathing so it is measured and labor. His immediate though is 'No, you shouldn't have done that.' but his sensible side quells that. Clint decision, while horrifying was correct. It would have been the best choice to save lives. It was the choice they should have made earlier with Steve instead of allowing him the chance to break out. That thought makes him feel sick, but... it wasn't wrong.]

I'm glad it didn't come to that. Even though people come back here, it couldn't have been an easy choice to make. Well done.

[The news about the Malnosso's decision is not a huge surprise. They keep reminding him of the World Security Counsel more and more. Yes, he did learn of the Nuke the city of Manhattan plan. And he knew who had made that choice, even if no one said who it had been, if Stark even knew who it was.]

Thank goodness for that.

All right.

[Speaking of things they need to talk about.]

I heard from Loki on my way here.

[Coulson tone is perfectly neutral.]

[He gives a small smile at the praise, although there's something bitter about it.]

I would have done it myself if I'd had to. I already lost my mind and attacked my own once, Sir. I won't let it happen again.

['Thank goodness' was a mild way of putting it. There had been a lot more swearing on Clint's part.

He goes still when Coulson mentions Loki, expression going colder, emptier. Oh, he can just guess what that involved. He knows what Coulson is asking, even without words. He's willing to hear his side at least.]

I'm compromised, sir. My judgement is impaired.

[It's bitter praise that choosing to die is the best course of action for everyone. Even Coulson know that. But it was the correct choice.]

I know you would have. I trust you to make the right choice. I trust you.

[He really does, you know. Even with all your crazy stunts you have rarely caused him to lose trust in you. Sometimes he wants to hit you for your crazy stunts, but he's rarely doubted the trust he places in you. Even the Helicarrier incident isn't enough because you weren't all yourself.

It involved a lot of passive-aggressive snark and some polite-ish conversation. Not a lot of detail though.

Oh god. Coulson wants to rub his temple and the ever growing headache he feels building there. This is going to be bad.]

How are you compromised? How is your judgement impaired? I didn't ask Loki for any details, so I am in the dark about what happened Barton. Other than violating a tentative limited aggression truce. Which you may not have known about.

[He needs a full explanation here.]

[Coulson's trust is a hard won thing, and it means a lot. Clint just wishes that he could trust himself.

He's glad that Coulson hadn't asked Loki about what had happened, but he still wishes he didn't have to tell him at all. But Coulson deserves a straight answer and Clint would rather it come from him than from Steve or Tony or, god forbid, Loki.]

I knew.

[His voice is clinical when he explains, because if he can remain detached for as long as possible, he might be able to pretend that it's someone else he's talking about.]

Stark told me about what Loki did to you on the helicarrier. I... I reacted badly and lost focus.

I tried to kill him, Sir, in full sight of civilians. No recon, no backup. There was a kid present. She wasn't hurt but... she saw.

Loki cut my arms up, severed my biceps.

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