Owner	Pose
Phobos	People who imagine what it must be like to work for SHIELD usually have one of two different illusions about it. The first one is, of course, the one where it is glorious. Where it is all ticker-tape parades, exciting missions, glamorous locales, beautiful women, and adventure! The other illusion usually tends to be people imagining it like a steady almost office-like environment. Where there are procedures for everything, security precautions in triplicate, and everything is constantly under control.     The truth of the matter? Is somewhere in the middle.     For an individual like Alexander Aaron? He never knows what it is going to be like when he goes into the Triskelion. At times it is adventurous, for he has had his share. But more often than not his duties involve... tedium, and the mundane. In his earlier days he did a lot of inventory and guarding of locations. There was a high call in SHIELD for people to stand around looking dour and hold a weapon.     These days, however? With his security clearance raised and more of the SHIELD personnel knowing about his status, he gets tasks that can at times be more interesting.     "So are you sure it's safe to hold onto this? It won't be like that Needler thing they had in R&D right?"     Professor Swift leaned around the side of the protective radioactive shielding that her and her staff were behind, even as they looked at the small Native American fetish that was being held by Agent Aaron. She quirked an eyebrow and nodded, then realized he couldn't see her behind her blast-shielded helmet and lifted the visor.     "Very safe. Especially for someone with your remarkable recovery abilities. This is an experiment to gauge the intensity of a multi-tiered spectral localized misfortune event. The karmic imbalance in the item in your hand is several Jungian levels beyond the pale. Yet with your nature, do such things inflict the same level of alteration upon beings of alternate heritage. We will start with this, and then advance through the library of artifacts we have available."
Natasha Romanoff	"Soooo, are we testing the item? Or are we using him as a human guinea pig?" one of the techs whispered to the one next to him. "Using human in the loosest of terms, of course. Since he isn't. Well, partially?" The woman he was speaking to, Agent Tyler, gave a shrug and looked at the many screens of data they both had before them. Every sort of analysis possible would be recorded during this test. Hopefully by capturing all of it, there wouldn't be a need to perform it twice. "Damned if I know," she added in the same lower tone for Agent Buchanan. In truth, it was unlikely there was anything to this particular artifact. It had just been a karmic fetish of sorts, or so the records stated. And thus far, what little poking and prodding that had been done, nothing had happeneed. Even around animals. So the idea of using it to test on an Olympian seemed silly but it wasn't their lab nor their project. Their job was to follow Professor Swift's lead.
Phobos	"We are tracking two main lines of data," Professor Swift said as she adjusted some of the charms hanging over their shielding. She turns to speak in quick low tones to the people there. "First we are trying to assemble a base-line to find the functioning levels of each of these artifacts. Second, we are attempting to establish the fluctuation levels that might be due to the subject's alternate heritage."     Though when she called Agent Aaron the 'subject' that gave it away a bit to her subordinates. They were testing the agent's 'heritage'. Which caused them to look at each other as one whispered, "Mutant?"     Then the other assistant replied, "Asgardian. Look at the hair."     But for Alexander he just stood there. "Ok, I'm not feeling anything. Should I move on to the next item?"
Natasha Romanoff	"Ooooh." And that earned a sage nod from the agent who could not easily see this had to be an Asgardian. "What is with them getting the best hair?" came the muttered follow up question. Everyone was watching the readings. Everything from temperature in the room to his skin temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, and the list went on an on. Yet, nothing seemed to be happening with that particular item thus far. "Should we attempt electrical stimulation?" one of the techs asked, looking over to the Professor. The good news was that the electrical stimulation would be for the item, not the person holding it. The first pair were still whispering. "Is this appropriate to be testing a person? Metahuman or not?" "Well he did volunteer. I think..."
Phobos	"With the upcoming equinox it's important we get this data. There's the... you know. In the basement." The assistant says with some trepidation.     But then professor Swift raises her voice, "Move on to container B please, Agent Aaron." She then quickly brings the shutter back down over her face.     Alex sets down the small effigy, and then picks up the second box. Which, really upon second glance looks almost like an overly elaborate tupperware container. He breaks the 'seal' with a small hiss and then holds up the thin sheath of leathery parchment in his gloved hand and turns it over one way, then the other.     "Alright I am now holding the..."     "Hell Treaty Between the 5th and 6th Circles."     Alex dutifully repeats it, "The Hell Treaty. I feel nothing out of the ordinary."     One of the technicians says, "Spectrometer readings find no misfortune finding purchase upon his karmic signature."
Natasha Romanoff	Obviously it wasn't real tupperware since it didn't burp when opened. At least that was what the old ads used to say about the storage goods back in the day. They should give a good sound to let one know they were keeping everything inside fresh. Or in this case, safe from being handled without gloves and protective gear. Unless one was the guinea pig. Or Asgardian in this case. Though not truly an Asgardian but Olympian was close enough. Just never tell either species that particular statement. For safety reasons. "Are we literally trying to tell if these things are bad luck?" Agent Buchanan just caught up with the class! "More curse than bad luck. What did you think Karmic Misfortune Signature meant?" "Nevermind." And Agent Buchanan went back to scanning. But that third tech was ever eager. "I have the electrical stimuli ready and available." They were really wanting to press that button. "And there is some sort of verse associated with this item that he could recite to see if that would activate it."
Phobos	"We'll keep that in the wings for now."     Professor Swift rose up over the shielding and said, "Alright Agent Aaron, transfer Item 2 into your left hand, take up Item 1 into your right. Be sure not to let them touch." She then ducks back down. And there in the middle of the area the young SHIELD agent nods as he does as she says.     The Professor in charge then turns back to the others, "Please focus more on the readings, now is not the time for conjecture. Now is the time for science." And as she says that abruptly all of the readings on the display go to zero.     The technician frowns, "Shit, I think we lost power on some of the gear."     "No karmic fluctuation, but now I'm getting base sub frac zero." The technician shakes his head as he ducks under his desk, checking some of the connections.     "Dammit, didn't I tell you people to verify our battery backup?"     "I'll head down to maintenance and check with..." But then the assistant pauses as she stands up and says. "Professor Swift?"     "What is it, Jessica? I'm busy."     "Our umm, our test subject? He's not here. Anymore."     And that's when all of the WAND researchers looked up over the blast shield and saw that indeed their subject had... fled? Or just disappeared.
Natasha Romanoff	Agent Tyler and Buchanan rose to their feet to peer over at the center of the room. They looked to each other then to the person standing there next to a table which had a single artifact sitting in the middle of it to allow them to scan it for any anomalies. "Who the hell are you?" came the words from Agent Buchanan before he could stop himself. A moment later, they were all starting to scramble back behind the shield, reaching for buttons for the lockdown protocols to kick in and setting off the red alert in the process. It looked just like the room Alexander had been in previously by dimensions at least. The door was in the right spot, the shielded techs running the tests. But there was a table next to where he was standing with that candleabra sitting on it that was being tested. And the room was somehow shinier, walls almost polished in their perfection. It was like no one had actually ever worked in there. Also there was the faintest of differences in the techs. Agent Tyler now had short cropped hair instead of long. Buchanan's the opposite, long enough it was in a ponytail instead of the buzz cut he had been sporting a moment ago.
Phobos	For Alexander it was like a record scratch in the world. A brief moment when things were normal, then seemed to flick back half a second and repeat itself, only with subtle alterations, faint changes in things around him. He stood there in the middle of the shielded test area, several bins and boxes around him, those technicians in place. When he was asked who he was he held up a hand and pointed at the man...     But didn't have the chance to say anything.     Just as Buchanan was hitting the red security lockdown button to shut down the testing area, the blond man there /leapt/ to the side and dove through the suddenly closing sliding doors. He hit the ground on his shoulder, rolling once and coming up ready to move.     Several other technicians squawk as suddenly things have gotten a whole lot more interesting. One breaks into a run for the security console on the door while another is keying up the comm-piece in his ear. But that's enough to get Alexander moving again.     He breaks into a run, moving toward the door that leads out of the WAND control area, his movements quick and decisive as if he somehow knew exactly where to go. When that tech got to the control panel a monitor suddenly smashed into it, thrown from afar as the young Olympian skidded around a desk, rolled over it, and hurled the LCD across that distance.     Yet he didn't go after anyone, he spun around one of the technicians who was just trying to get out of the way, darted past. Then suddenly was out into the hall. Though as fast as he was moving... his mind was racing even faster.
Natasha Romanoff	He could hear the people on the comms over the speakers at that security console. "Lock it down! Lock it down! Unauthorized entity!" Because they didn't know if this was a person or something pretending to be one. Being WAND, they weren't taking any chances. Just as they were going for the button, suddenly they were forced to leap back as the inbound monitor slammed onto the desk. Sparks flew, screens went out, pieces went flying. From both the screen and the console. "Dammit!" snarled the agent as he tried to lockdown the entire area but found that the console had been damaged at the controls themselves, meaning he couldn't push anything. He pulled out the commlink and tapped it to life, putting it to his ear canal and speaking. "We have an alert in WAND. Unknown subject wearing SHIELD uniform." They gave a brief description then turned to pursue. The good news? The Triskelion was a maze of tunnels on these lower levels and they all looked the same. This was a security measure. To keep someone that might get in from being able to find what they were looking for easily. Even as security began rushing down toward the lower level, they weren't too concerned that the intruder would ever make it out. And up in one of the holographic training rooms, the Black Widow was working on prep for an upcoming op when the alarms were raised. She turned and walked out, wearing her SHIELD uniform with holsters on each side strapped to her thighs. Likely, it would be resolved long before she got anywhere close.
Phobos	For high enough ranking Agents the data they had access to during a security breach was considerable. Usually one of the higher ranked officers would take command and focus the efforts, though everyone had their positions of authority and their responsibilities during a lockdown. Also they each knew the actions they needed to take. So just in case there was on higher up available, they could still handle 98% of the possible intrusion scenarios.     Which is why it was rather disconcerting when the data feeds incoming showed that these measures... weren't enough.     There was a short video snippet of a figure moving down a hall, taking the corner, hitting one of those checkpoints just as the three SHIELD security guards were locking down the checkpoint. A weapon was raised and an ICER was fired, but then it was taken away from the guard and sent flying into the face of another guard as the body of one of the men was hurled into the... hidden camera?     Reports from other areas, a few more video feeds. Though always the shots were brief. The intruder seemed to know how to get from point to point quick enough to be just a step ahead from pursuing forces and lock down measures. And if Natasha had accessed one of the feeds by this point she'd be surprised at the speed of it.     Then once he made it past one of the data storage points, suddenly a cascading security failure fired through the system, causing a series of seemingly unconnected checkpoints to lose power, taking them off the grid entirely. None of the other agents would know the significance of these particular checkpoints going down. But Agent Romanoff? She might well recognize that sequence.
Natasha Romanoff	There was indeed a senior officer who was sharing the information over the commlinks as everyone was rushing to intercept. Only to be one step behind, over and over. Finally the officer had to admit, "This guy knows the exact layout of the Trisk. He know where the cameras are. Is this a former agent? Someone get me data now! Do a facial recognition or something!" Even as he was bellowing, Natasha paused on her passage to the elevator. She pulled up the feeds and watched the few shots of the young blond male easily getting through all the security. Which is when the checkpoints went down. In a very specific order. "Have a squad head for the roof. He may be trying to get to a quinjet." Since that is what those precise openings in security would allow for. Which had her frowning. Especially when she pulled up what was used for that access. Only to find her own backdoors in the system had been hacked. How could he know those codes were even there? The only person that knew other than Natasha was Skye. She quickly turned to the elevators and her finger went toward the button for the rooftop access only to pause. Then she pushed a different button entirely.
Phobos	For Alexander the time was a rushed blur.     As soon as he had started running his mind was mostly focused on the tactical situation, running through the threats as he perceived them, dealing with the problems as he could, sometimes two or three at a time. He was careful, some people were going to be suffering some very serious bumps and bruises, but he wasn't about to hurt anyone severely. Let alone anything worse.     Which, on some level, annoyed him. Since he could tell how many fractions of a second he was losing, and knowing that if he was going to get out of here... then those seconds would count.     But all the while another part of his mind was trying to figure out what exactly had happened.     Though right now, as he dropped down one of the four central ventilation shafts that moved along the sides of the emergency elevators, he had no direct challenges and so more time to think about how screwed he must be. Those security checkpoints would give him a clean shot to the roof. Which he could have used to perhaps steal a Quinjet or something less conspicuous. But then he'd have had to run a long distance. Get far far away. And right now he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Since if this was... something that had been done. He needed to make it undone and fast.     He finished shimmying down that shaft, hit the turn and started to crawl horizontally. His broad shoulders just fit inside that narrow structure, but he was still able to make good time. Silently he disengaged the grate and then dropped down out of the vent...     Landing silently in a crouch in the confines of the car pool.
Natasha Romanoff	And as he got his bearings there in the car pool, the many vehicles around and the flourescent lighting overhead that kept the place from being a complete cave, there was someone else present. Though he didn't see her immediately. There were just the lines of cars and SUVs, ready for use. The keys were kept at a station near the elevator though. Unless he intended to hotwire one. After all, they weren't kept locked in the underground bunker. It was believed there was enough security there was no need for it. Perhaps that rule would be changed in the future, depending how events transpired today. Then there was a voice from the darkness. "Clever boy." A hint of a purr to it, a huskiness to the tone. "Setting off the alerts to make it seem you were going up instead of down. Surrender now. Before this becomes...unpleasant." He had shown no sign of attempting to cause true harm to anyone. He had not displayed any weapons. Thus, she felt safe stepping out. Her SHIELD uniform was tailored to perfection, hugging the curves of her form perfectly. Her red hair was curled, as though she just came from a salon perhaps. It fell around her face and shoulders. She had weapons but they remained in the holsters, unless one knew about the wristbands she wore and the dangers they held within.
Phobos	Those first two words caught him and he spun to face her, fists slightly raised, hips turned, balance perfect. She was a master of reading people and what she saw spoke volumes in that single instant.     For she saw such a cascade of expressions on those handsome features. His eyes, his lips, the flaring of his nose, the intake of breath. It all was a smooth roil of looks that fed her such conflicting messages.     For when he first saw her there was recognition. Then confusion. Then resignation. And a hint of... sadness? So quick. Instantly done. To a normal person it was barely there, imperceptible. It looked just like his lips parting slightly, a breath drawn, brows slightly coming together, then his lips closing.     No words as he seems to focus then. And she knows it's going to be a fight.     All in the three quarters of a second that elapses in that moment.     He's moving then, and she is as well. He's rushing to the side, darting past an SUV, pulling the door open to interfere in her path, then planting a foot on the fender of a car and using it to vault over the hood, slide past, landing and breaking into a run. He spins 360 as he tries to gain some distance, sending his black jacket _hurtling_ across the distance at her as if to throw it into her face.
Natasha Romanoff	That was odd. She didn't know him. But he seemed to know her. There was no reason for him to know her unless he was in the espionage business himself. Her identity wasn't public, at least not as a SHIELD agent. So why that gamut of expressions? Then there wasn't time to wonder. He was moving and she did the same, shifting to the side to try to intercept his path. As he moved past the SUV and started to open the door in her path, she leapt to the hood of the SUV and simply ran across the top of it. But he was still ahead of her. He vaulted over a hood then came to his feet again, still moving without his speed lessening in the least. She had leapt off the SUV to the next car, continuing her pursuit then leaping to the ground. The jacket came her way and she swatted it down even as there was the tiniest of sounds. Two Widow's Bites were fired from her wristbands as she continued after him. He did have longer legs so he had the advantage in a footrace, unless he tired before her. The car pool area was only so large and he wouldn't likely be tiring prior to exiting so she had to go for the shot. Even as she turned and cut between two vans, knowing that this would allow her to cut him off from the door he was heading for. Which yet again proved he knew the Triskelion like the back of his hand.
Phobos	As soon as she brought the bites to power, somehow he heard that slight hum as they keyed their charge, just enough for him to duck low and skid partially along the ground as those bites slammed /THUMP-THUMP!/ into the body of the SUV he was running past. But it slowed him down enough that when she cut in...     That's when she caught up to him.     And suddenly they were fighting, that quick rushing back and forth of strikes, though usually very few people could hold up to three quick exchanges before she already had their style broken down and was already executing the technique that would get through. Only she made that quick read, throwing three quick punches countering the three he threw. Then she brought up her knee and... hit his.     But someone like her that wasn't enough to cause any hesitation. The fight continued quickly, several more quick strikes as he stepped back, the darkened windows of the SUV they were fighting beside showing their reflections as he tucked in behind a strong high guard as she hammered it with forearms and stiffened fingers.     He spun low to try and sweep her legs, she leapt over. She tried to hammer her foot home, he twisted to the side and she created a heavy dent in the car.     This... was going to take effort.
Natasha Romanoff	Now he had her attention. He was able to keep up with her. Not just keep up, it was almost like he knew her fight style and had a counter for it. He would meet her blow for blow then throw a block and try to exploit the tiniest of openings only to be shut down. But now Natasha realized this was far from any sort of ordinary foe. She felt like she was fighting Taskmaster. He would watch techniques and learn them. Was this one of his students perhaps? Having studied her fighting styles? It was very concerning if that was so. Another series of punches with a quick kick, aimed for the center of his chest. He managed to block and use her own momentum to get her off balance, going for a kidney strike. She leapt and rolled back to her feet, coming back up with a kick aimed for his face only to see he had anticipated that as well. The frown on her face was one he knew well, even if the face was slightly different. She was concentrating. Perhaps a bit angry. That he was not going down as quickly as he had wanted. As she came up to her feet, she palmed a Widow's Bite. It was slipped between her fingers as she prepared to try to use it if she could just connect a blow with that hand.
Phobos	When she frowned she saw his features change slightly. And he... smiled? Just a bare hint of one that came to life at the corner of his mouth. Not a thing of mockery. But... warmth. Sentiment. Then replaced with redoubled focus. As if forcing himself to not let up. So he charged at her, and she moved to meet him. There was that quick exchange of blows, each of them taking the outside approach trying to punch around the other's guard, heavy impacts of their forearms against forearms, then countering with a cross-block that fouled the interior strike she aimed toward his chest.     But that was what she was waiting for as she palmed that bite and used that moment to spin around, having a shot at his back...     Only for him to drop to one knee and reach up and somehow _catch_ her wrist as he pulls her slightly off balance. Stopping her from planting that device against his back. And now that was just damn eerie.     But neither of them stopped. Neither of them paused. She pushed off him and he off her as they both bought some distance. Only he abruptly leapt upwards and grabbed one of the many pipes that criss-crossed the ceiling and pulled it down creating a sudden blast of compressed coolant that raised a chalky cloud of smoke and vapor that suddenly clouded the room in that white haze.     It was just enough to break line of sight. Just enough to buy him a few seconds... when she heard the sound of a vehicle starting and the engine gunning immediately.     On the comms of Triskelion actual a voice called out, "Sec Breach, exterior car pool doors. Vehicle on the move... displaying no tracking signature."
Natasha Romanoff	If she didn't know better, she'd think he was Taskmaster! But when that particular villain had been captured, she had seen his face. So this was not Tony Masters. However, he had her moves down like he had fought with her. Being she didn't know him, the only conclusion she could come to was he had studied her. Considering she was a shadow hiding in the dark and more a boogeyman than believed to be real by most, that was damned scary. How did he know her so well? How did he match her? When he made that leap for the pipe, she had not been expecting it. She was forced to drop back a few steps to keep from getting a freeze burn from the coolant. Only to hear the engine start and the vehicle tearing out of there at speed. As the words came over the comms, she stepped out as the coolant leak was shut down by the building. Too late of course. Taking a position in the middle of the driving lane but near the now empty space the vehicle the intruder was in had been parked moments before. There she saw the tracking device laying on the ground, removed and disposed of from the hidden location under the dash that quickly by the man. "Tracking device disabled and left behind. He got away." She sounded annoyed. But then two words followed. "For now."
Phobos	It took some doing to lose the rest of the security elements that were engaged. The vehicle was good enough to cross the bridge, to get into the tunnel. But then once in the tunnel he was able to ditch the car, move to a maintenance access point, change clothes, use a stair emergency exit to get into the subway system. And from there...     He was a ghost. Or at least he thought he was.     His course led him first in a spiral access pattern, not leading directly to his target destination in case he was being tracked. Whomever this guy was, he had tradecraft down. He hit up one of those general goods stores that sold just about anything. In other places it would be called a dollar store, but this was New York so it'd be the ten dollar store. But in there he picked up a Yankees windbreaker and a New Jersey Nets baseball cap. Sunglasses completed the look and with that he was back on the street.     Only he didn't try to get out of the state, nor to any particular transport hub. When she found him next...     He was standing outside the burned out shell of an old Victorian house in the middle of Brooklyn.
Natasha Romanoff	If he were focused enough, he would hear the crunch of boots approaching. Then she was there, standing to his side. she wore a lightweight black leather jacket which covered the patches on her uniform top. Over her legs were now a pair of baggy jeans, which hid the lower part of the bodysuit. Her hair was pulled back in a scrunchie at the base of her head so the curls were more manageable. "You don't make things easy," she murmured, giving him that moment of respect. Because he had been hard to track. It had required using SHIELD tech after he ditched the car. And a little intuition. But there were cameras all over the city that they could tap into, without anyone the wiser. It is what they did, after all. She looked from what had once been a house to the tall young man at her side. "We should talk. No more fighting. At least, for the moment. To say you have captured my interest is an understatement." She was sort of like the woman he knew but not exactly. His Natasha was firmer, stronger. This one was more soft, less toned. Shapely of course but just not the woman he knew so well. And when she fought, she was just as strong, despite the physique not seeming to indicate it. "I'm Natasha. Though I suspect you already know that."
Phobos	She could see that slight hint of tension enter him as she got closer. Something about him, or maybe he was just that good at picking up a tail. But to his credit he didn't run. He turned his head slightly as she stepped up to stand beside him. He was standing across the street from that house. Blue condemned tape surrounded part of the driveway to prevent vehicles from driving up. There were signs that people had gone through the debris, but that was likely just locals looking for copper wiring.     She said her first few words. And as she spoke she saw his brow knit. His lips tightened a little. He was aware that... she could read him. For he was taking efforts to give little away.     But when she introduced herself. She saw that focus break a little.     Without looking at her he says, "Alexander."
Natasha Romanoff	"Alexander." She tested the name, got a feel for it. Then Natasha continued as she looked at that burnt out house once again. "You are not nor have ever been a SHIELD agent. I also have never met you before today." And with that, the house was no longer where she focused. She turned enough to look at him directly. "So how is it you used my codes to access the systems at SHIELD? And not just my codes but my own contingency plans should anything ever happen requiring those specific steps to escape the building? Because while someone might have hacked the code, the other is impossible to have been learned." Although she came up with a possibility as she tilted her head, an action that was familiar in some way to him. "Unless you're a telepath perhaps?"
Phobos	His lips part as she starts to speak to him, and at her second sentence she can see him smile slightly, then almost... wilt a little. Which makes his smile broaden a little for some reason as he exhales, swallows, then looks at her. "I know those codes... because you gave them to me."     He steps back and into the shelter of the awning of the small storefront that is opposite and a little down the street from that house he had been looking at. Just enough to be cover from above, and perhaps along the road. Then he turns to look at her as he leans back against the wall next to the glass storefront window. "I'm not a telepath. No."     He looks at her, and for a moment he just looks in her eyes and... she hadn't had time to notice them before but his irises are so pale... so deathly pale with only the slightest hint of... green in their depths. They look almost alien, but the sincere expression upon his features somehow brings them to life. He swallows, smiles a little. "You're not going to believe me."
Natasha Romanoff	It was so strange watching his expressions. Happiness then sadness right on the heels. Or maybe not precisely sadness. Resignation? It was hard to tell without more context to the man. It could be any of those really. They read about the same. Though when he said she gave him the codes, he could easily see Natasha didn't believe that at all. Her thoughts went to mind control. Instead of telepathy. Then he said he wasn't a telepath but it didn't erase her new theory. His eyes were odd. Beautiful in a very creepy sort of way. But they were not what she was used to seeing. There were very few people in the world with truly unique eyes but he seemed to be one of them. The faint smile as he warned her was enough for her to know he was sincere in that belief. He was sure she wouldn't believe him. "Let's give it a shot anyway," she suggested as she took up a spot next to him, leaning as well and glancing back over to the husk of the old house before looking back to him again.
Phobos	A nod is given and she could tell he was resigned already to telling her. He was pointedly not looking into her eyes, he was sort of looking past her, toward the house, or toward the street. Perhaps being security conscious, or perhaps just... not entirely comfortable. Yet she could read him, and that hesitation, could tell that he was... fighting an instinct. Fighting that practiced way a person has with someone when they're at ease with another. As if he kept feeling he should be at ease in this moment. Yet forced himself to be reminded that he should definitely not be so at ease.     So it was this subtle stopping and starting of expressions. Then he started to speak.     "I am... or I was a SHIELD agent. Before the alarms went off, what I, perceived. Was I was in W.A.N.D. helping them do research. I heard Buchanan talking. Then he stopped abruptly. I looked up..."     At that point his brow furrowed as he seemed to have difficulty describing what had happened. He closed his mouth, exhaled slightly with a hint of a scowl, then resumed. "Buchanan was different. The room was different. And then they pulled the alarm."
Natasha Romanoff	The immediate thought that followed? He was delusional. He had some mental break that he thought he was a SHIELD agent. When he obviously was not as they'd checked their records. Even facial recognition back to the days before computers, since all of that had been fed into the systems from the boxes in storage many years ago. Yet, he did know her codes. And said she told him those codes. Why would she ever have done that? It still wasn't making sense and he could tell she was trying to work it out, put the pieces together inside her head. "So you either somehow have detailed plans of the Triskelion and have mentally controlled me to have me give you the codes. Or..." And this is where she hesitated. Because it seemed a bit far fetched. "You said you were in WAND helping with research. What sort of research?"
Phobos	"I mean, can't rule out the telepath angle." He says as she sees his gaze still distanced as he considers it, "But then if I could do that, why would I do something like this..." Then his eyebrows lift as he seems to argue with himself a little when he adds, "Unless I was really really bored."     And when he says that last she'll see him smile. Which causes those features of his to just come alive with warmth, those eyes being so... gentle in their way. But then he snuck a glance at her and shook his head. "Sorry."     A small apology, but why? Then he clarifies and says, "We're... normally friends. But you're different. So it's a bit surreal to me."     He seems to shake his head, focuses on her words. Then she asks about the research and she'll see him close his eyes, scrunching them tight as he tries to remember the words exactly. "The karmic... entanglement of... imbalance?" He shakes his head, "Something about the Jungian levels?"
Natasha Romanoff	He apologized for his attempt at levity which was strange though he explained it a moment later. Natasha just gave a nod, trying to just accept what he was saying. "Friends? That still doesn't explain me giving those codes to you. I've never given them to any friends before. So I suspect we were very good friends." Which hinted as something far more than friendship. "So I can see this would be difficult. I wish I knew a way to make it less so." But then he explains the testing and she considers. Her brow tightens and she looks down at her boot tips while she tries to make sense of that. "So Carl Jung theories? But applied to karmic entanglement of imbalance. So something not being in balance as it should be, something interfering with it." And then she chuckles and that is a sound he knows well. Since she didn't really giggle. It was more husky. She also lifted her gaze to look at him again, a smirk now on her face. "Which literally sounds like Star Trek technobabble than anything real. I'd have to ask someone with a bigger brain than mine to explain." Then she takes a slow breath. "Tell me this though. Did you intend any ill toward the Triskelion with your presence?" Because she would be able to read his answer even before he said the words.
Phobos	The way he lowered his eyes was answer enough to her about their... his relationship. With the other her. Just the way his brow furrowed and he didn't answer her. She had all the information on that front.     He nodded when she said it was difficult.     Then she asked about what the research had been and delved for more detail. He just shook his head slightly and flared his hands as if to say her answer was as good as his. When she chuckled he looked over at her and there was a hint of something in his eyes, he very slightly bit his lower lip. But she asked if he meant any ill to the Triskelion and he shook his head. He looked away and said without hesitation. "I just wanted to get out of there."     Then there's a pause and his brow knits. "Was that..." He clears his throat and for some reason she sees him tighten up. Some form of... sadness. Grief. Then he asks, "At security station 17, was there an Agent Kelso on duty?"
Natasha Romanoff	The relationship was confirmed. It was far more than friends. And he definitely meant no ill will to the Triskelion. Thus far, she had read nothing from him that indicated he was lying either. Which mean, from his viewpoint, he was helping WAND then suddenly was looking at a slightly different tech and having an alarm go off on him. Leading to his utilizing codes that Natasha had given him and tactics she had in her planning basket for if they were ever needed. The change in him was stark, though he was trying to hide it well. This thought pained him. The question did catch her off guard though. She pulled out her phone from an interior pocket of her jacket. It was encrypted so that it was not able to be tapped into and allowing her a secure access to the SHIELD databases. A quick query and she found the information requested. "Yes. I take it you know him as well?" she asked, looking back to him as she hit a button to darken the screen once more.
Phobos	She saw what he could erect as a barrier, still not quite looking at her, perhaps using that as a shield. So he just shakes his head a little, then tells her. "Just tell him I'm sorry. Clonked him pretty good." Another small smile.     He furrowed his brow and looked at her, then said. "I'm... going to be having to... run around a lot. Talk to people. I'm not intending anything. Any harm. If you need me to do something. To check in. I will. But I really don't want to be taken into custody right now."     She could see him, read that look.
Natasha Romanoff	She left it alone. It was something he didn't want to talk about. Pushing it wouldn't help matters. In fact, it might break the rapport they were starting to build. And that was always what was needed was a rapport with a suspect. If he was a suspect. She wasn't so sure about that now. "Can I at least get your last name? I mean we have your image, can do a search that way. But there's a lot of people in the world." It was a choice. Squads were available if she wanted to bring them in. But Natasha was trusting her gut on this one. She reached into an exterior jacket pocket this time and pulled out an old style flip phone. It was offered to him. "Burner. One number in there and that's mine. It does have a tracker on it so I can try to find you but, as you saw, I don't really need it." Since she did manage to find him here. "Is there anything I can do to try to help?"
Phobos	She got a nod out of him. Then she asked for his last name and that was when he looked at her. His expression was reasonably under control, not quite as on the sleeve as it was at first. He met her gaze steadily, then said, "Alexander Aaron. John Aaron is my father. I uh. He was a construction worker. Is a construction worker. Local 427 union rep too. If that matters."     His eyebrows rise as if wondering why he told her that, but then it's data. Data always helps. She produces the flip phone and he looks to her then nods. "Thank you, that's a kindness."     Which might be a curious turn of word for him to say. It narrows down his background a touch. She offers anything to help and he exhales a slight chuff of breath. Something that might almost be a laugh. He looks back to her and says, "It's crazy the number of habits you get from being around another person. So it's hard. You're not..."     He clears his throat and then says simply, "You're not my Natasha."
Natasha Romanoff	It's all filed away mentally. All details helped and she wasn't going to let them slip away. Even if it was just the way he reacted to things, moved. That shifting of expressions so rapidly from one to the other. Such as now when he felt familiar but then it was gone and he closed her out though without meaning to be unkind. "No, and I'm sorry for that. Though I can't change it. But we'll start from our end while you research from yours. See if either of us can come up with some answers. Alright?" And for a moment, it almost seemed as if she was going to put a hand on his arm in a reassuring manner but she stopped herself from doing so. Instead it was a slight lifting of her hand then lowering it back to her side. "For now, we'll plan to meet up in say... 24 hours? Here if you like." Since it was known to both of them.
Phobos	"You sure you want me to tell you where we should meet?" He says that with a slight lilt to his voice a she lifts his chin a little, looking at her askance.     "That would deprive you of the chance of appearing out of the shadows at some inopportune time and freaking me out." He says that with such ease, and such calm deadpan tone, but it's the first thing that he says that lets him smile easily, without a touch of reservation.
Natasha Romanoff	And there is no way she can help but laugh. Natasha smile was bright, even if she wasn't His Natasha. She did have a lot of those traits and that smile was one of them, along with the sound of her amusement. "You do know me well." A playful wink and she pushed away from the wall they were leaning against. "Then I'll find you. When I feel it's best." And she turned to simply walk away, leaving him to his truth seeking.