14565/Hold the line (no, not the bad song)

Hold the line (no, not the bad song)
Date of Scene:	13 October 2022
Location:	Weapons Testing, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Special training for Agent Johnson
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake

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Clint Barton has posed:
The gymnasium would not do, nor would the athletic courts. Somewhere in the Triskelion, there should be a wall climbing area, but so far Clint Barton did not find it. Did he ask? Nope. Did he really want to find one? Most likely not.

Instead, Hawkeye had the Weapon testing facility lightly refitted to meet his requirements. These requirements were: a couple of ziplines high up by the ceiling linking two platforms of about 50 feet, a couple lines dropping to the ground, just above a protective inflated mat. Just as if this place was a circus!

As he walks in this area of the Weapons Testing facility, Clint looks up at the installation, nodding his agreement. All is exactly as he wanted, and the few agents trying to look busy at something glance in his direction, visibly curious at what the Hawkster has in mind with this.

It is 13:00 now, the meeting time Clint indicated for Skye to join him here. She's not here yet, and the archer won't worry for now and give her a fifteen minute slack.

Skye Johnson has posed:
Really she tried to be on time. But between the cats demanding a second breakfast (and failing), a traffic jam that had two lanes down to one, and a maintenance call on the closest elevator..

Skye was late.

When she walked in, she /didn't/ have a coffee. A little bird her that she wouldn't have time to drink it once she got into the room. She actually thought weapons - real weapons that she always needed practice, or her powers against them. But this? This was different. Strange.

"What are we doing, Hotshot?"

Clint Barton has posed:
Exactly the question that all the agents around are asking themselves, what the hell is it all about?

As she walks closer to him, Clint nods at her, a serious look on his face - although he seems very tempted to just smile and kiss her - which he doesn't. Because. Remember, agents around? And all the vid cams and stuff?

"Thanks for coming, Skye," the archer says, "On today's menu: climb, jump and fall. Mind you, the number of falls will be up to you."

As he speaks, Clint walks to one of the lines attached to the ceiling and is equipped with an auto-propulsion system, allowing the user to be basically pulled along the line.

If Skye prefers to use the metal ladder attached to one of the platform, it's up to her. As for him, Clint grabs one of the lines and up he goes. Having reached the maximal height allowed by the pulling system, the archer lets go of the line, does a nice aerial flip and ends on top of one of the platforms.

"Whenever you're ready!" the archer calls down to Skye. "Show me what you've got." In case that she decides to try the line, and fail, the inflatable mat is there to catch her fall. See, it's all thought about and safe. Serious. Hawkeye thought of everything.

Skye Johnson has posed:
Ooops. Clint, not Hotshot. Must remember that! Skye shrug one shoulder, and gave him an apologetic look. But this room..

Part of it seemed familiar, and part of it looked like something out of the future. What with climbing lines (something she was familiar with), with this apparatus hanging down from it (which she wasn't familiar with).

Okay. At least she could climb up. That much she knew. Not that she looked as good as Clint! Mind you, Clint had circus training in his background. Once she had made it to the top, and onto the platform, she grinned "I guess I could have practised my powers going up!"

And perhaps, going down. She doesn't know about that yet.

"So now what? You aren't going to push me off, are you?"

Clint Barton has posed:
"Me? Push you down?" Clint retorts, a mock-hurt look on his face. "Not at all."

Moving closer to the edge of the platform, glancing down at the mat with an appreciative nod, the archer points to a horizontal bar hanging about in the middle of the gap between the two platforms - so at about ten feet from the ledge. From a distance, it really looks like the old video game Pitfall.

It is a great distance to jump, especially while having to grab the metal bar at the end of the jump. If the jump is too short, then the mat will cushion the fall.

"No, you will jump," Clint explains and, as if to demonstrate how to, the archer walks at the other edge of the platform, runs and jumps off it, grabbing the bar just long enough to gain some leverage and letting go right away, finishing his jump on the other platform.

That done, the archer looks at Skye, arms crossed over his chest, a smug look on his face.

"Easy peasy. No powers. Jump.

Skye Johnson has posed:
"What?" Skye was surprised. One minute he was beside her; the next over *there*. With nothing by a single trapeze line to link the two places. "Let me guess? You have signed us up for a mission, where we have to pretend to be circus people?"

She was only joking a little bit. Clint would be the best agent for the job, hands down.

"Let me see.."

Damn. He made it easy. Judging the distance it wasn't all that easy. Especially at her height! "You have something to catch me, right?" Of course, she could let herself down gently if she had to. She had to keep her eyes open though!

"Here goes.." And she jumped to catch the trapeze like thing..

..and missed by only a fraction of an inch.

"Dammit!" Between the inflatable mats and her powers, Skye was pretty safe, even with falling. "LOL. Let me guess, put some oomph in my jump?"

Clint Barton has posed:
Alright, so the archer might have set the bar - literally - too high to start with. At least, that's what he seems to be thinking about as he looks around at the rope and lines, scratching the back of his head. Skye and he have a good foot in height difference, did he miss that factor?

"Nice try!" Clint comments from the top of the platform.

That said, the archer sighs, and jumped directly toward the mat, hitting it right in the middle but far enough to not cause injuries to Skye.

"I though a lil' high-flying training could be in order," Clint says as he gets on his feet, "But maybe we should start with revised expectations."

Skye Johnson has posed:
Skye was on her back, torn between laughter, and telling him off. After a moment where she evaluated her body - no broken bones. Good. Just her pride was bruised. Not so bad. She laughed, "I bet you did that on purpose!"

They often used that to inform the trainees of how important it was to practise, practise, and practise before going out on missions where there wasn't anything like the practice mats. "Really funny. I get it though. Always check your distance, twice, before letting go."

She was cocky, and was paying for it. Lucky, beyond bruised pride, she was ok, and was back on the platform, ready to do it again.

Clint Barton has posed:
"Yup, all is in risk analysis, and practice," Clint agrees. "Like you said, it's best to fall here in safety, than kill yourself during a mission."

Of course, Skye Johnson has powers, and she could very well not practice since it is a bit irrelevant for her. But knowing Hawkeye, arguing that practice isn't necessary wouldn't change anything. Besides, relying on powers alone is not a 100% guarantee. Powers can fail, a lot of situations can occur in which powers wouldn't help.

"I'll stay right here, and admire you falling!" Clint shouts from his spot on the ground.

Agents around look at the /practice/ and shake their head, probably none of them would want to even try this stunt.

Skye Johnson has posed:
"Thanks a lot." Oh, Skye used her 'haha funny' voice. Which translated to: you bastard. Still, she climbed up the pole, and braced herself on the platform, and gave it another try.

This time she held on.. with one hand.

Damn.

Now she /could/ have tried to levitate with her powers. But something told her that Clint would not approve. The scientists spent lots of their time seeing what she could do, and occasionally to see if there were new things. She had regular practice with her powers to keep them up to snuff, as well as marksman practice.

This? He would want her to practice with no powers until he was convinced she was ok, before she could move to her powers.

Which was why she dangled with one hand, and tried to get the other hand up, before doing anything else. Like swinging over to the second platform.

"I think I know how to fix it, but I think I'm going to fall instead of trying to fix this."

Clint Barton has posed:
Yup, the parameters were not adapted to Skye's physical possibilities. Did the archer do it on purpose, to test something else than just bare jumping abilities? If he had only done what he knew he could, Hawkeye would not be part of the Avengers. What brought him where he is, despite having no powers other than his stubbornness and cockiness - not to mention marksmanship - is his uncanny ability to jump without checking first and survive anyway. Right, this led to many bones being broken, but hey, it worked.

Looking up at Skye dangling from the trapeze bar, Clint reconsiders if he pushed the parameters a bit too far. Still, the point wasn't really to see if Skye could do it, but rather, if she /would/ try. And she did.

"Alright, you lack velocity to make it," Clint comments, "You might as well come down. Sometimes, trying is the most important thing, y'know."

Skye Johnson has posed:
This time, she was ready for the fall. Much better!

Sitting on the mat, Skye decided, "If I were running away, I could have done it. Or if I depended on my powers. I think I'm still holding back? One more time with oomph? You can laugh this time if I don't make it?"

How could he turn down that?

Clint Barton has posed:
At this point, the other agents gather around, closer to the platforms. Of course, they have seen Skye try twice already - which is a show of courage, despite the mat.

"Yes, you can do it, agent Johnson!" one of the agents shouts. And the betting go wild.

Clint, on the other hand, does /not/ bet on this one - maybe he'd rather /not/ sleep on the couch for a week!

"Sure," the archer replies, a grin on his face, "Try it, as if you life depended on it," is his advice. "If you make it, lunch is on me."

Skye Johnson has posed:
Ooooo. Lunch is on Clint! That makes it even more important that she gets it! Her lunch is at stake!

For the third time she found herself on the first platform. And for the third time she studied her plan. But, this time she was going to trust her body - even though she couldn't actually see the distance being crossed by her.

Afterall, she'd fallen twice. She /knew/ the mats were safe.. ish.

All she needed to do was.. And she was off. At first she felt like it was too far; then she wondered if she had gone too far.. Trust.

Suddenly she caught the trapeze, and when she had swung back and forth, she threw herself towards the final platform.

Just. Like. That. It was over. Skye was on the second platform, without any troubles.

Clint Barton has posed:
Despite some having lost their bet, the agents gathered at the foot of the platforms applaud as Skye succeeded with the jump.

Clint also claps, visibly proud of her.

"I knew you'd do it," the archer shouts, and yes, he knew she could - "Well done! This means, than next time can more demanding." The last is said in a lower voice, which she may or may not have heard. But again, Skye has very good hearing.

"Alright, you can jump down now. I'm starving. You even got to chose the restaurant."