2013.05.05 - Terminal Chat

It was a fairly normal night in the city. Up above, people galore were bustling around on the way to or from errands, work, or happier pursuits. The weather was definitely starting to become more stable as the calendar crept towards the start of Summer... and in the Terminal, one man waited alone.
It had started with a text message; a request to be met in this place, around this time. It gave Terry enough time to get cleaned up after a day of work, and at the same time hopefully gave the recipient of the message - one Kate Bishop - time enough to handle anything she had planned for the day. One way or another the timing worked, and that's why we're here now where the dark haired teenager's form was laying lazily on one of the couches awaiting his friend's arrival.
And Kate...
Isn't quite as cleaned up.
But she has been 'at work'. For as the time arrives, someone wanders down the stairs, and into The Terminal. It is the dark haired girl. Yes she is in costume. And is armed. /BUT/ it does not look like she's done much more than put on her costume, and come here from where ever she was.
Which is probably why as she enters the terminal and glances around, she tilts her head slightly as she notices Terry, before offering a polite, "Trauma."
"Hey, Hawkeye. Glad you could make it." Terry replies, kicking his legs up and using the momentum as they come back down to roll up from the couch to a standing position. Then there's a moment taken to look her over. Costume. This much is noted. "Sorry if I'm keeping you from anything important, but still good to see you again. How've you been?" he asks. Making a bit of smalltalk, first. There's a reason he asked her to meet him - maybe a couple, actually - but... it's also been some time since they've gotten to talk, so.
What little smile Kate may of had starting to form falters by that question, even as Kate starts to move over towards a seat near that couch and sits down.
"Busy." she admits with a slight shake of her head. "Now that I'm 'officially' our leader, there's more I have to do. Plus since the weather is getting warmer the benefits are shifting gears into more stuff that can be done outdoors. And..."
Pause.
"Sorry."
"How about you? How are you doing?"
"Hey, you've got nothing to apologize for. Sometimes people need to talk, and I always used to be the one in my group of friends that people told their problems to, so... I'm a bit of an expert without anything close to a degree, or the rates of someone who does. Besides, I'm no leader, so if I can take the a part of burden in some way... well, I'm glad to." There's a slight smile offered to that point. Which, from Terry, is about the same as the average person smiling properly.
"I've been alright. Work's proving stable, plus I'm starting to learn the city like the back of my hand... and it lets me keep my eyes out for things /we/," Motioning to the room as if the entire team were present. "...need to deal with while I'm doing the stuff /I/ have to. Works out. Haven't lost control in almost a month, either... which is really good for me since I've moved into the city. You know, tons of people, likelihoods of someone being scared by something... but, yeah. I'm doing better."
There's a slight nod at that, before Kate quirks an eyebrow and nods.
"I won't ask where in the city. But I know you probably found a decent place. And if you didn't, or are having trouble with it, just let me know."
Yeah, then there's a slight pause and glance away.
"And if you want to go back to school and get a degree, I may be able to help with that too."
"Decent neighbourhood, kinda small -- but that suits me. I don't have too much, and I don't really entertain. Only trouble comes up when the kids downstairs have a sleepover. One of their friends apparantly has a knack for telling scary stories... but those are the nights I crash here, so it works." Terry explains. "As for where, I'll text you the address - you're welcome to drop by whenever, you know. Part of the whole keeping in touch thing." The second part of the offer has him raising an eyebrow. "Me, back in school?" There's a brief uneasiness on his face as memories strike. "I'm... not entirely certain how good of an idea that is. One step at a time, though.
There's a slight pause, and a head tilt.
"Hey. It can happen." Kate finally says before she bites her lip. "Heck, thanks to The Spider we may even have a way to work on that. That is if you're up to being poked and prodded to see if an 'expert' can figure out what's going on and how you can control them better..."
Blink. Blink. There's several moments that Terry's left pretty speechless after what Kate just told him. "You're... serious?" he asks after a those moments of silence, looking conflicted as to what he's about to do next. "I... I don't know what to say. I'd launch myself at you and hug you if I were the type and didn't expect that you'd flip me over your shoulder in response." There's a small, wry smile offered at that. "Yes. If there's any chance of even a shred more of control, I'd jump at that in a heartbeat. There's so much I've wanted to do, people I've wanted to get closer to... that I just... you know, haven't."
There's a faint snort at that, before Hawkeye rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
"Considering that you're you, I probably wouldn't throw you around like that. But yeah. I am serious." is said before the female archer starts to move over to the mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"I mean.... Look, I'm less than thrilled about the whole 'Mister Fantastic' thing The Spider has going on. It feels to me that it has too much of a chance for us to become dependent on him. But at the same time, in a case like yours I don't see why we couldn't see if Dr. Richards can do something to help you."
"That was part of why I'd asked you here, though." Terry admits, chuckling softly to himself. "When I'm... well, me, I'm pretty useless if things get physical. Which considering recent events, could be a problem... and a couple of the others suggested you might be the person to help me out with that problem." Because if the Young Masters can take away his monster side during a fight? He'll probably be little more than a hostage, and that could be even worse than the monster.
"I think it would definitely be a benefit to well, everyone if there was anything that he could do to help. Me more than anyone, obviously... but still. You know what I mean?" Terry's obviously struggling with his words a little bit, but it almost looks like he's /keeping/ a smile on his face. A small one, but still.
There's a slight pause at that.
To be honest, Hawkeye isn't exactly sure what to say, or react.
"Some people might think that without my bow, I'd be useless in a fight. But they're wrong."
"Some people might think that if you took away my bow and my staves I'd be useless in a fight, but they'd be wrong."
"Some people may think that if they fully disarm me, and leave it so I can't move my arms and legs I'd be useless in a fight. They're wrong too."
"First and foremost, as long as I can think, and think rational sane thoughts, I am never disarmed. No one is. That's the first lesson I learned. It's the first one you need to learn. It doesn't matter if you're afraid, you can overcome fear. It doesn't matter if you're hurt, you can ignore pain. It doesn't matter if you're angry. Just as long as you, even a small part of you can think straight, you're never truly helpless in a fight."
Terry watches Hawkeye's reaction... and nods. "Right... I think I understand. If you can think, you might be able to spot an chance to turn things around, right? Granted... I'm sure it's something easier said than done. Maybe even more than usual in my case." Terry shakes his head, starting to pace a bit as he goes through memories. "When I was in high school... I'd get into fights but that was more or less just flailing around to try and come out of it with little more than a black eye." He saw his fair share of being picked on, afterall.
"...and then with the team, any time that I'm fighting... well, it's my other half doing the work, you know? It's... it's like watching a movie. Sitting there, out of popcorn and soda, occasionally yelling at the screen for the hero /not/ to go down that hallway where the trap is set... but not being able to do much about it." There's a brief smirk as he recalls becoming Thor for a time. "That's... kinda why I need to practice, I guess? Because /most/ of the time when I'm doing stuff with the team, I'm going to be in the back seat, but those times that I'm not..."
"...That's when you..." Hawkeye starts to say, trying to find the right words. "Won't be you're best power wise."
Yeah. That's probably an understatement and then some.
"To be honest, I'm not sure what to say to this. I mean... Sure I could sort of teach you some basics when it comes to fighting without powers, but... Well, what I said earlier is the big thing. Your mind will always be your biggest asset."
"Case in point, if you tossed /ALL/ of us, all The Young Allies, against Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, who do you think would win. And why?"
"Yeah. It hasn't been a problem so far, I'll admit. The last time I was in the field with you guys being a great example. Granted, I didn't enjoy the hospital all too much... but I was pointed in the right direction and didn't run out of steam until it was 'safe' to." Subconsciously, Terry's hand moves to his side where - under a couple layers of clothing - a scar remains from that stab wound he took.
"Well, anything would be helpful... and if you have any ideas on how I might be able to keep my mind on track when... well, everything around us is going downstairs, I'm all ears." Because it does sound like it's an important skill to have. "As for that match up..." He pauses for a few moments to think about it. Playing out how the fight might go in his head. "... I think we might win if /all/ of us were involved. I've... I don't think I told you this, but I've... faced off with Thor before -- accidentally, but for as long as it lasted... I had the upper hand. I... know what he fears." That was great for his self-confidence in how much of an asset he could be under control.. but at the same time horrifying for a couple other reasons. Such as the fact that his uncontrollability came into play there and nearly cost the good guys the fight. The thought definitely darkens his features a bit as it crosses his mind. "Which... if I did that again, it would leave the Captain and Iron Man, and numbers would overwhelm. They've had more experience in... almost every other area, but if you put us all together against a much smaller force.... I don't think I can see the greater numbers losing, even with considerably less experience." Pause.
"But I'd hope that's a fight we never have to partake in."
Unfortunately that's something that Hawkeye has been thinking about ever since this whole 'Young Masters' thing started. What is the worst case fight they could have. How could they face them? And certain 'big name heroes' are the ones that she keeps thinking about 'How would we do? Would we win, or...?'
Yeah. Suffice to say that she hasn't exactly liked that mental exercise. 
"In theory we could. And I didn't exactly know that about you and Thor, but I'll keep that in mind. For now though..."
"For now though, I'm not sure what to offer you. I'm not sure what I can teach you. And I'm not sure what you want me to teach you. Heck, even with the mind stuff, I'm not exactly sure where to start...."
"You're welcome to debrief me on that... incident if you'd like. It's also where I first met Axiom; and why I avoided him like the plague until fate helped us meet under better circumstances." Now Eddie, along with Kate, is one of the few people Terry counts as being a friend of his.
"Rule One. No one on this team is a liability. Ever."
Yeah. As Hawkeye finally sits down, she says, that, before opening up and taking a swig of her drink.
"Rule Two. If you want me to teach you to fight, I can. But there are those who could do a better job, and if you want I can try to find some of them. If you want me to try to teach you to focus, I can as well, but it might be better to do that as part of the fighting stuff, since that's how I learned it without meaning to. But again, there's people who can teach you to be better with that."
"Rule three, if you want me to try and address what appears to be the real problem here, I can, but I can only think of maybe one person who /might/ be able to do a better job than me at that..."
"Right." is Terry's response to the first; nodding slightly. He's still got his concerns... but he'll try and push those to the back of his mind for now at least. To the second.... that's where he shakes his head a bit. "People are kind of a weak point for me, Hawkeye -- you know that. I know there might be people who could train me a bit better... like a certain person with a fist behind his beard, but I know you, and you know me for the most part, and you don't run. At least until I /do/ get more control, that's pretty important." Plus, he's got a feeling that she could take him down if things got hairy. "Besides. I like you." There's a bit of a grin offered to that.
The third rule makes him blink in a bit of confusion. He thought he'd covered everything, but maybe there was something that he missed. "Go on?"
And here's where Kate chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment before she replies.
"Look, part of this sounds like a trust issue. Or a 'believe in yourself' kind of issue. And when it comes out The Allies, there is on person where it feels like when it comes to believing in people, especially others, is one of the major things they do..."
"Axiom."
Then there's a pause as she closes her eyes. Especially at the whole 'like you' bit.
"And I'll teach you what I can if you want. Heck, I'm half tempted to show you that I trust you. But odds are they'd just push you away."
"Maybe you're right about that..." Terry murmers, considering her thoughts for a few moments. Glancing away as he ponders it. "...and from what Axiom and I had discussed about his own abilities... and, just talking to him in general, I think you're definitely right about him." There's a slight nod to punctuate his words. "I'll make it a point to chat with him some more, then." ...besides, there's still Movie Night that they've planned for.
When she agrees to teach him? "Great. Thanks, Hawkeye." As for being pushed away? That causes him to raise an eyebrow. "Oh really now?" Afterall, /he's/ usually the one who does the pushing away.
There's a slight nod at that, before Hawkeye pushes her sunglasses back up.
"Yeah. Tell me Trauma... Terry... What do you know about me? I mean seriously... What do you know?"
"I mean we've known each other since before the Allies formed, since before I met Axiom, before I met the /other/ Hawkeye, since I more or less was just starting out... But what do you know?"
"What do I know about you?" Terry echoes, considering for a few moments. "Well, I know your phone number, but that's not really /about/ you." He starts out, before leaning back into the couch and folding his hands together. "I know that you've got a really big heart; you're happy to help a stranger, you give twicefold of your own time to help people less fortunate than yourself whether it be your volunteer work or your... nightlife." Motioning towards her costume. "You're a very brave individual, you know what I can do ... regardless of whether or not it's my intention to do so ... but you still associate freely with me. At the same time, you have something that you're terrified of... something very, very bad." Evidenced by the rather... brutal reaction she promised if his powers ever picked up on her.
Terry pauses for a couple moments, scratching his chin. "You're multi-talented and driven to success, obviously, considering you /became/ Hawkeye, rather than having it born into it like some others. Either you have some sort of connections, or you're pretty brilliant yourself." Given the trick arrows she uses, which aren't your regular run of the mill hunting arrows. "And, well..." He looks away and lowers his voice at this point. "...you're quite attractive, but I don't think that's what you meant, either."
At some of that Hawkeye remains neutral in body language and expression. At some of it she nearly blushes. And some of it...
Well, lets just say that her reactions are mixed, and she has to glance away from Trauma fairly early on in all of his gushing.
"What you also don't know is that, Well... Maybe you should Google it yourself."
Granted, a lot of what he's saying is less from knowledge and more from observation... but not all of it. "Google which you?" is Terry's first question, as he moves to dig out his cell phone. "Because if I tried, I've got a feeling I could get some information on either one..." ...and more than he expects, at that.
And while still not looking back, Hawkeye simply says...
"Kate Bishop. Or to make it easier to get to the point I'm making, you could always Google my father first, Derek Bishop."
Yeah. She could say more, But well, odds are once the basics are found...
"Alright..." Terry replies, punching in the letters slowly on his phone. After a few moments of searching and several more to read, "...oh, wow. I can't say I expected that... but it does help to explain quite a few things. Kinda the missing piece of the puzzle, you know?" There's a few moments of silence on his part afterwards before he speaks up again.
"...you're... surprisingly normal for who you are." Then very hastily added, "The good kind of normal, that is!"
There's a slight nod at that, before... Hawkeye... No, Kate gets up, and takes off her 'sunglasses'.
But yeah. She's silent too for a little bit.
A long bit actually. Or a long while if you want to be grammatically correct.
Either way.
"Look. It's a long story. And this probably isn't the right time to say it."
Terry's response? The boy continues to sit on the couch. His eyes do follow Kate as she moves, though. "Hey, it's okay. When the right time comes, I've got my ears wide open like I said earlier. Until it does?"
He takes this moment to stand as well, stretching out a few different muscles before focusing back on the girl once again. "You're still the same Kate that I met in the park long ago to me, and that's more than enough for my tastes."
And...
That, heck none of this is the reaction that Kate expected. At all.
"Thanks. But please, don't tell anyone. Billy and Eddie know. And The Spider has pieced most of it together. And Speedy knows. But the rest.... Don't."
And that's all she's saying about that right now.
"And as for trying to teach you what I can... I will. When and how I can."
Terry has his reasons for reacting the way he has. Quite a few reasons, actually. Once he's up, though, he reaches out a hand to set on Kate's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Secret's safe with me, Kate. Just like the last one was. Believe me, I'm not a guy who takes peoples' trust lightly in the slightest. One of these days, I might just tell you about some of the skeletons in my closet, too."
With that said, he removes his hand - assuming she let him place it there in the first place - and starts for the exit. "Thanks for everything, Kate. As always. Hopefully I'll be able to help you out as much as you've helped, and are still helping me one of these days."
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