Owner	Pose
Clint Barton	It had been 24 hours since the rescue. They'd made it to the downstairs corridor, saw Skye then... Well it got hazy from there. Clint remembered water rushing in, then a raft, then well, nothing until he woke up here at the Triskelion. He sits up, sore, and casts about looking for well anyone, but most especially Skye. It takes his eyes a moment to adjust, he rubs, them calling out "Skye are you there?"
Skye Johnson	It had been a harrowing... Well, Skye didn't know how many days she'd been gone. It wasn't like there'd been a clock in that cell of hers; in fact they'd kept it day/night nuetral - always with the lights on; walls tinted to cast the least amount of shadows; security shifts occuring outside her locked door with its tiny window. After a time, and especially after Karl had put her back in that cell, it had all become a blur. Not to mention she didn't know how long she'd been passed out before he'd woken her. Or since he'd experimented on her. That was still a vague memory in the depths of her brain as she slept. Right now, all she has is that niggling nagging flutter of too much sound around her, and Clint *BOOMING* in her ears about waking up. "Jesus, Hotshot," she murmurs, pulling her pillow over her head. "Nobody who loves me would be waking me up at this hour." Of course, her memories flood back at about the same time as that, and she sits bolt upright, gasping.
Melinda May	As much as May had protested it, upon returning to the Triskelion, Medical had all but handcuffed her to a bed to get her to rest even for a few hours. Despite wanting to get up and see to all of the things that no doubt piled up while she was out on the recovery mission, the moment she allowed herself to stop and try to rest, she was out like a light. Clint's and then Skye's voices do filter through to her and she's already in the process of waking up, but the sound of Skye's gasp and abrupt movement has her up and on her feet almost instantly and her eyes looking for any threats. And she's got a vicious looking knife in one hand.
Darcy Lewis	This is what happens when no one's around to babysit this pack of crazies. Sitting in a chair across the room where she can see the lot of them, Darcy glances up as Clint wakes first. She snerks silently at herself for having lost that self-made bet on which would wake first. Oh well. She'll buy herself a beer later. Still silent, she flicks a glance Skye's direction and then May as teh Momma Bear is on her feet with a knife. "Enhance your calm, Ninja Nanny. You're all fine. For a SHIELD style varying definition of the word 'fine'. Fuck, did you really get a KNIFE past SHIELD nurses? Damn. They are shit at their jobs. Can you imagine if you were, like, I dunnno.... some sort of super spy HYDRA sleeper agent here to kill us all? You'd've gotten through every last one of us for sure-sies," Darcy rambles, not bothering to get up and mother hen fret on any one of them. Instead, she's mother henning ALL of them, from across the room, while in the middle of a YELP review. Because Darcy's got SHIT to say!!! "Clint, stop tryignto wake Skye up at half past four o'clock in the afternoon. It's unhealthy for the nerd-brain. Skye, stop being a drama-llama and wake your ass up. I'm bored and need you to counter hack FyrePython652's Words with Friends account: I think he's cheating. May... Hi. If you put the Crocadile Dun Dee don't need a gun away, I'll make you some tea."
Clint Barton	"Hey, hey, it's okay," Clint says sliding off the bed, to go to Skye's side. He hasn't been handcuffed, he has been out this whole time. Which only likely means he'll be handcuffed later. Reaching Skye, he pulls her into a hug, "We're good, we're good, we got out." May's knife and Darcy's well, Darcying, makes it clear that hey look other people in the room! Clint looks around at the both of them, "Hey guys, nice knife May, need me to pick the cuffs, cutting your arm off seems a bit extreme."
Skye Johnson	It takes Skye a moment to realize the quality of light is different, and the sounds, while entirely too loud for her liking, are familiar. Not familiar in I can count the steps of each patrol's passing familiar, but the underground hum and buzz noises of the Triskelion, and the familiar breathing of her friends. Not that she knows why she can identify them that way, but it's true. They are each individual and distinct. For a blip of a second, her heart races, and there's a tremor runs through her, then Clint's voice is reassuring her, as is his touch, and there's May, and Darcy. Oh gods, so very Darcy.. and things settle down. She remembers to breathe. Calms herself. She's not a prisoner anymore. "Shit I never thought I'd miss this place so much." And she'd thought Tidepool had been nasty. "It's all a blur." With a side grin for Darcy. "I knew you only liked me for my keyboarding skills," she smirks. "Nice to see you too. How long was I gone?" Because that's the easier elephant in the room.
Melinda May	May blinks a couple of times and turns as far as she can when Darcy starts in on the verbal diarrhea, then huffs in annoyance and turns back to where her left hand is still attached to the bed. The knife is set down and she rather mercilessly PULLS the handcuff off of her wrist over her hand. If the Medical staff had REALLY wanted her to stay put, they'd have remembered to handcuff both of her hands, and done so tightly. The fact that they didn't means they knew she'd be getting loose the moment she woke and decided to not try too hard. Once loose, she promotly heads for the door, already reaching for her usually ever-present commlink. And then realizing that her commlink is gone, she turns back toward Darcy. She's clearly woken up mean.
Darcy Lewis	--...and that's why this place is the worst of the hole-in-wall places. Which really is sad, for a place that isn't at all a hole in the wall. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand post. Darcy sets her phone down on her thigh, watching Clint calm Skye, watching May yank the handcuff off and then round on her in a manner that smacked of how Darcy had rounded on that poor Agent in New Mexico when he tried to tell her to evac as she was stealing a truck to load with pet carriers full of puppies and kittens from the pet store. And for the record, why the FUCK did a town that small even HAVE a pet store that size? I mean, seriously? What the hell, man. Darcy looks up at May, smiling angelically. "Promise to lay down until Medical clears you and I'll bring you your tea box, an electric kettle, your tea cup, and a tablet keyed to your access clearance," she bargains, even-toned, to the fearsome Cavalry. The same fearless, gives no shits, aplumb with which Darcy had told the agent to fuck off in New Mexico, the same lack of self-preservation with which she seems to routinely move through her life, has her meeting May's unpleasant gaze, the murderous glint that would make all other seasoned agents tremble and think twice about trying to make May do ANYTHING righ tnow, ...and smiling... sweetly.
Clint Barton	Clint needed a moment too, to adjust to the fact Skye was really here and his fuck up of not reporting her absence hadn't cost her life. Still, not one for being sappy in front of others, he says, "Welcome back, Keyboard," he says before falling quiet as Darcy gets in May's face. He can't help but smile and whisper, "Twenty bucks on Darcy." Though at the back of his mind there are flashes of the state of the lab and the mutant's words before he fled up the stairs, 'a monster'. He'd ask her about what it was later, he decides, missing the obvious connection.
Skye Johnson	"You're on. Loser does the dishes for a week," Skye answers Clint back. Secretly, she figured Darcy would win, because paperwork always won, but it was still fun to spar this way with Clint and Skye wasn't one to give up an opportunity to. "Two weeks if May has another knife." And, just like when she was in the science lab, Skye notes she doesn't hurt. In fact, other than things are too loud and bright, she's feeling better than she has in longer than she can remember. It's decidedly odd.
Melinda May	After staring down Darcy for another five seconds during which she's almost painfully aware that she can hear NOTHING of the Ops Center comm chatter, she finally relents and moves to sit back down. Of course, this puts her right back within easy reach of that knife. Happy now, Darcy? She finally turns her attention toward Clint and Skye, and mentally rewinds what they've been saying over there. And just because, she in fact pulls a second knife and actually considers throwing it at the couple (or at the wall behind them) for a few seconds. This knife is positively diminuitive compared to the first one, and clearly designed to be thrown.
Darcy Lewis	Five seconds that Darcy waits. Five seconds that Darcy looks calm and composed and unconcerned. And then May relents. The knives are Medical's problem. Darcy's done her SHIELD civic duty in getting May to at least comply with laying down and resting until she's cleared. If Medical's gonig to be pussies and cave into letting her out before she should be becasue they're scared of a knife, then that's not her problem. Darcy waits for May to settle down to the bed before she collects her phone and pushes up to her feet. "You caught me, Shitcode. I only love you for your fingers. You two turtledoves be good, and don't annoy Momma Bear too much," Darcy quips as she slips out of medical to get the promised items.
Clint Barton	"Guess you're doing dishes," Clint smiles when May sits down. It's shortl lived given he gets one of those patented May stares in the next moment, complete with throwing knife. "Easy May, it's all good, you busted your ass getting Skye back, no sense putting holes in her now that she's home." He gives his head a shake. "It's been a week though, sorry for teasing," he says. Yes, Clint just backed down, mark it on your calendars. He gives Darcy a wave, "Catch you around Darce," as the other agent scoots.
Skye Johnson	Skye follows Clint's gaze and sees exactly what he does. "What's that about dishes, Hotshot? Want I should get that special grapefruit dishsoap you like?" "A week?" Skye tries to think back over the time, and she can't place it. Everything is a blur of half memories still. Things that refuse to solidify into neat little cubbies that make sense. In part because her mind is still reeling with shock over what's happened to her. And also in part because despite the fact that she resisted, Hydra is *good* at the brainwashing they do. All she knows is she should still hurt. If it's been a week, why doesn't she still hurt? Didn't she have broken ribs and concussion? Didn't she... A chill runs up her spine as a thought hits. She's still there. She's still there with Karl in her mind, trying to get her to reach out to his voice and touch.. what was it? His hand? She wasn't sure. But it was the same then as now, that lack of pain. And the things in her mind trying to convince her that all was well. That all would be well if she only just accepted it. Eyes wide, Skye looks around herself like she's suddenly realized she's been trapped. Her heart rate spikes - a thing that would be noted if she were hooked up to anything, but lacking any obvious injury, the young woman had been merely left to rest in her hospital bed. Oddly, Skye's bed starts shaking. As does the water in the nearby watercup. And water jugs.
Melinda May	May of course recognizes when Skye starts doubting she's actually here. It's almost like she's dealt with something of this sort before. "Skye. Stop and think. Could you FEEL those bedsheets before? Could you smell Clint's deodorant?" Or perhaps his current lack thereof. "If you don't feel you can trust your eyes and ears, use your other senses to tell you what's real and what's not." And yes, she's noticed that the bed and everything around Skye has started shaking, but without her comm link there's not a whole lot else she can do about it right this moment.
Clint Barton	Nodding Clint kisses Skye's head. "Yeah, do," he says of the soap before he frowns when Skye starts to doubt things are as they seem. "It's okay Skye, take my hand," he says extending his to her. "I'm feel me I'm really here, you're safe we got you back from those bastar-" The shaking starts and Clint jumps back. "Whoa, what the heck?" he asks, then it hits him "Oh my god, what did they do to you..." The rest of the pieces come together and he glances around the room, they were in the Trisk and he remembered what happened to the Hydra base. "Listen to May, Skye, we're really real, we're here for you."
Skye Johnson	Of course, Karl had done that too, hadn't he? Reassured her things were real. That they'd be okay. Only.. only she'd had her badge and an arrow then, right? She remembered that. But where were they? That was right, Karl had said he had plans. When she'd not faltered, he'd been disgusted, and said he had other uses for her. He must have tried again. Only this time, her anchores were missing. She tries willing them into the palms of her hands, the self-same hands that are gripping her bed like her life depends upon it. Distantly, May and Clint's voices come to her. Words. Telling her to focus on what she can sense. Panic has a firm grip on her, though, and the room continues to shake, the bed bouncing its frame now. Think, think, think she tells herself, trying to sense out what might be real.
Melinda May	May looks at Clint sharply when he jumps back from Skye. Whatever is causing this bizarre shaking, it's reacting in time with Skye, and they need to do something about it. Now. She stands again and steps quickly across the room to give Clint a mild shove -- not enough to knock him off balance but instead a silent order to get over himself and help. For her own part, she steps around to where she can reach Skye without blocking Clint and starts briskly rubbing at the younger woman's arm as if trying to warm chilled skin. It's not a soothing touch so much, per se. But hopefully it'll help.
Clint Barton	Clint gets the message, jumping back was sending the wrong message. Casting about the room, he grabs a blanket off his own bed and comes back with it for Skye, draping it over her shoulders, and his arm with it. "It's okay Keyboard, you just startled me, it's okay," he says hoping that it was. Some the med-staff appear at the door, looking stunned, though one of them looks to May. "Deputy Director..." the question in the tone is obvious. What do we do? As for what's real, everything seems to be talking to Skye as she tries to ground herself, the world is full of buzzing voices speaking a language she can't yet understand.
Skye Johnson	So. Much. Noise. And that buzzing feeling again. Like she was flying apart. Skin itching and crawling. She could feel everything around her. Hear their heartbeats. Sense the growing panic in the med-staff. That was different. That wasn't how it had been. That wasn't the lack of sensation that Karl had tried to lure her through into accepting him and Hydra.. but it was equally as terrifying to the girl. Because with it came memories of exactly what *had* happened, and they were all too real. Skye's breath catches, and her eyes snap back into focus. She knows where she is now. That this isn't some thought being fed into her head. She just can't stop the spiralling spikes of fear shuddering through her. Monster the mutant had called her. Karl had been afraid of her. Clint.. even Clint had gasped at what she'd become - what they'd done to her. Only she didn't know what they'd done to her. Only that it had been done. "Help me," she mouths, as the bed continues to rattle and jump, and screws in all the nearby fixtures start to unwind and shimmy themselves out of their sockets.
Melinda May	May steps back when Clint finally steps back in next to Skye, and moves toward the door when the medical staff peek in. She speaks with them quickly and quietly, then closes the door on them again. "Skye, listen to me, and remember the meditation techniques you refused to learn from me. Breathe in slowly, then breathe out slowly." She looks at Clint again, as if checking to see if he'll help out. "Breathe in. Breathe out."
Clint Barton	Clint hugs Skye tightly, leaning his head against hers, "It'll be okay, Skye. We've got you, come on, listen to May," he eases off with his hold then, letting Skye settle if she does what May tells her, and tries to meditate. He doesn't move away entirely, though, he leaves a hand placed on her back, a reminder that he was there.
Skye Johnson	She's trying. She truly is. And when May tells her to breathe in and out *like she refused to" in typical Skye fashion, a protest rises to her lips. It dies there, though, because it had been true. Mostly true. It had taken her practice with her bow for Skye to understand, finally, what May had been getting at - and surprisingly her archery practice had instilled many of those very things May was coaching her towards now. The bed still shakes, but it's a faltery shake - like a wooden roller coaster ride: One minute smooth; the next creaking and bucking and sounding like it's about to fly completely apart. Later, maintenance will find screws missing everywhere. Bends, cracks, and should they look closely enough, weaknesses in the metal and wood of all the things in the room. But right now, there's Skye and the bed, and she's struggling to follow the breathing. In. Out. In. ...she holds it, trying to convince her body what her head knows. Her head struggling to speak the calm words to herself. It was Clint. And May. She was safe. As safe as she could be. Slowly, ever so slowly, the shake, rattle, and roll of everything begins to settle down, and every increment it does, the slowing down kicks up a notch, as though her confidence in things will be okay allow her to control herself more and more. Until it's just Skye in the bed, damp with sweat, breath catching in her throat, but no longer in terror, or causing the place to fall apart.
Melinda May	May waits until it seems clear that Skye and whatever is going on around her is settling down again, then offers, "I think we're ready to move somewhere a little less clinical. What do you think?" She poses the question to both Skye and Clint, though her eyes are more on the archer than the hacker. "Skye, when was the last time you remember eating something?" Getting back to some semblance of a normal routine might help with whatever is going on here.
Clint Barton	Clint's own heartrate seems pegged to Skye, when she calms so does, he, crisis for the moment averted. Despite the sweat, he offers Skye the blanket again, nodding agreement with May's assessment. "Yeah, somewhere familiar might be good," he says. There's an unspoken for now there though. What had happened, suggested all sorts of horrible things, and it was probably better they got to the bottom of them sooner rather than later. For now though, like May, he wanted to see Skye somewhere she'd feel safe. "Guessing the neighbours would hate us in Greenwich," to say nothing of Skye's father still on the loose. "The apartment?" he asks meaning the couple's quarters in the Trisk.
Skye Johnson	Skye shivers, suddenly cold now that the adrenaline of it all has worn off. "Yeah," she nods. "Back to our apartment." Because Clint is right, with all that's going on, Greenwich isn't safe. Hell, she's not sure if here is safe given what just happened.. and that didn't even begin to touch what she thought she'd done back at the base. She was afraid to ask. "We can talk there, right?" As in not here where everyone and anyone can overhear. Even if May /was/ the Deputy Director and there was a sort of irony to considering her 'safe' to have these discussions in front of. A measure of the trust Skye placed in her former SO.
Melinda May	It wouldn't be May's first choice, but the quaters here on base are at least a far better option than anywhere off-base. So, she nods her agreement with Clint and goes to collect her knives. "Go as slowly as you need. I'll take care of everything here and meet you both there." Because really, this is something they're going to need to talk about, sooner rather than later. Slipping out of the room ahead of the couple, she goes to talk with the Medical staff about her suspicions and that the couple are returning to their quarters. Let's see the doctors try to argue with her.
Clint Barton	"For sure," Clint answers Skye. "We can talk there," he promises, finding and squeezing her hand. Then he's all about getting Skye to the apartment. While he's never one for hospital protocol, he grabs and insists on a wheelchair to get her to the apartment, brooking no argument unless the room starts shaking. Assuming Skye goes with him, he wheels her back to their place, and helps her from the chair to the imposter couch, facilities had put in the place of the original. It wasn't all that homey here, but it was a home. "Need anything?" Clint asks, once Skye is settled. "And, sorry about before, about jumping back, I was just startled."
Skye Johnson	Skye is all the protest about the wheelchair, until she finds herself shaky - not shaking, shaky. "I think May is right. I need something to eat." She couldn't remember her last meal. And once in their rooms, she curls up on the couch, sitting with her back into the nook of arm and couch back, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. "I did that," she says finally. "What happened back there. I did that. That was me." She's not *quite* ready to admit the base was her too, but deep down inside, she knows it was.
Clint Barton	"I can make you something quick," Clint offers, knowing May would likely be on the way with food of her own. "If nothing else, some water," he says checking their fridge for what they had. It wasn't much, all the shops were far, far from the Trisk thanks to the big drawbridge out front. He pauses when she brings up what happened at medical. "Yeah, seems like it," he says. "I don't know what any of that means, but I'm with you Keyboard, that much you can count on."
Skye Johnson	Skye continues to hug her knees, chin resting on them. "Water would be fine. Not sure I'm hungry." She probably should be. If not based on how long since her last meal, the ordeal she's just been through should be enough to have her starving, but somehow she's either not, or hasn't noticed yet, or is flat out denying that she's hungry. Maybe a bit of all three, with a solid dash of feeling sorry for herself and engaging in some self-punishment to boot. Clit gets a weak smile for his support, though. "Yeah. I figured you might be. Not sure you should be, I mean, maybe you'd be smarter to just walk away while you still can. Before I do something even more horrible. I don't even know what I am anymore. I'm worse than he is." That lab space back at the base had been devastated. She couldn't deny that.
Clint Barton	Clint nods, pulling the jug of water out of the fridge then sets it on the counter while he gets two glasses. "Right," Clint says after closing the cupboard door, two glasses in hand. "That's not going to happen, whatever you end up doing, Skye." He fills the cups and puts the water back in the fridge. He knew, or suspected at least what had happened at the base, people with powers like that weren't new to him, thanks to his time with the Avengers, but the fact that it was Skye... That made it a million times stranger and more frightening; and that was him? He could only imagine how much it was messing with Skye. He makes his way to the couch and offers up a glass, "I love you, Keyboard. Not going anywhere."
Melinda May	It's almost like summoning a demon. Speak her name and she appears. ... or, she knocks then lets herself into the quarters anyway. She's carefully carrying one of those insulated bags designed for carrying lunchers, but this one is more of a size to carry a tailgate party's worth of beer. Seeing Skye sitting on the sofa, she heads that way instead of into the kitchen, and sets the cooler bag down to open it. "Only soup today," she tells the younger woman almost apologetically. Almost. Then she looks up at Clint, and delegates him to fetching duty. But only for a moment. "Could you bring some mugs and spoons, please?" At least she said please. The contents of the bag are revealed to be four sealed jars of soup, multiple varieties based on the varying colors.
Skye Johnson	It's a measure of her miserable that Skye doesn't look up when May comes in. She doesn't even twitch interest at the soup - which, if May is responsible for it, is going to be delicious, and even if it is only cafeteria fare, still isn't all that shabby. "Not hungry," she lies, still back in the wallowing phase. May's arrival, of course, saves her from arguing with Clint about whether or not he's staying or leaving, which is just as well, it's not like she reallly wants to push him away, she just feels rather obligated to.
Clint Barton	Clint puts the water down on the coffee table and nods when May enters. "Sure thing," he says then jaunts off to the kitchen to raid it for mugs and spoons. The soup smelled wonderful. His mind had been on Skye since he woke up, but now that he smelled food he realized just how cold and hungry he was. He hurries back with the mugs. Getting things set out, he asks, "So what'd you get?" nodding at the soup.
Melinda May	"That's why you're getting this one." She holds up a jar of what must be purely broth, as it's by no means clear, but it's got zero chunks. "And you will drink it." She hands Clint a different jar -- each one is easly a quart of soup -- that is filled with a light brownish color soup that has varioius vegetables and what are most likely lentils in it. "Lentil soup, egg drop soup, chicken vegetable, and broth." She accepts one of the mugs from Clint and neatly pours from the broth jar so the mug is only about half full before offering it to Skye. "Even if you don't want to drink it, hold it in your hands. It's warm." She's betting on the armoa enticing the upset young agent sooner rather than later.
Skye Johnson	Skye looks like she's about to protest and argue with May. For a second there are glimmers of her usual piss and vinegar, and then as quickly as it's there in her eyes, it's gone again, and her shoulders slump and she nods, defeated, reaching out to accept the offered soup. It is cupped in her hands, and whether she'd admit it or not, she's grateful for its warmth settling against her palms. It's a connection to the one spot of memory she has anchoring her to reality before life as she knew it changed. And even though there aren't marks on her palms, she can feel where the broken arrow had pierced her one hand, and where the edge of her SHIELD badge had cut across the other. Turns out, May is right. It isn't long before Skye forgets her sullen protest about eating and sips at the soup, surprising herself with both doing so, and with how tasty it is and the fact that she is, indeed, hungry after all.
Clint Barton	Clint takes the jars from May, and weighing his options picks egg drop, pouring it into his cup, before getting settled on the couch across from Skye, reaching out his feet to rest them gently against her. Making a bridge of connection between them. Sipping his soup, he takes a moment to breathe, and just accept that Skye was home. It was a terrible relief after all the guilt he carried for letting Skye's absence go unreported. Not that it was entirely gone. Though not ready to face that yet, Clint says, "So, May, what's the word from the outside world? What's happening?" Not that she had been awake longer than he had, but he'd gone from medical to the apartment, he'd glimpsed sunlight.
Melinda May	May pours herself a mugful of the egg drop as well, then starts to relate what she can to Clint and Skye. Most of it is pretty mundane, but there's one thing she knows Skye would want to know sooner rather than later. "R&D confirmed that the chemicals the lab was working on would have been catastrophically detrimental to the ocean environment. Skye, you helped us stop them from dumping those chemicals." She says this with sincere conviction in her voice. She means it.
Skye Johnson	There's a numb little nod from Skye, whose lips are pursed into an unhappiness. "I don't even know where it was. I was beaten before they got me. When I woke I was already inside. I got the message out, and all the way to the surface. Then all there was was ocean all around." She gives an almost laugh. "Should have seen Karl's face when I shot out the glass. After that I wasn't allowed to see anyone. Not even the guards when they fed me. All shoved under the door slot." She's not mentioned how it was to wake there yet. As for Clint, Skye wriggles her toes against his. She might be miserable and moping, but she's still Skye deep down. And he's still Clint. And some things don't really change all that much.
Clint Barton	"Yeah, got to figure that was their plan right?" Clint says to May. "Dump that crap and let it spread in the ocean, given what Cranston was saying, about it being the meeting point of the North Pacific Drift and that Japanese current," Damned if he could pronounce it. "Glad we took care of it," he says. There is a look sent Skye's way to say, he was glad of other things too, his feet wiggling against hers. Yeah, things don't change with these two. He offers a small, tired smile. The bit about the glass, gets a laugh out of Clint, "Ha! The dome was you? Should have guessed," there's a smirk. "Good job." He knew it was a desperate act of a scared prisoner, but there was no point on dwelling on that part of it. "And I bet he nearly crapped his pants," he chuckles he says before getting a bit more serious. "Any chance he was in the base when it blew?" he asks about Karl. That would be one less thing for them to deal with. "And wait, you got up to the dome from the basement?" he asks suddenly realizing the accomplishment there.
Melinda May	May quickly realizes that Skye is more likely to talk to Clint than her right now, so she just gives the archer a silent nod to keep going. She pulls her phone and appears to be looking at messages or something on it -- she's turning on a recording app so they won't have to make Skye rehash this all over again later. That done, she seemingly idly sets her phone down on a side table near Skye then reaches to refill her mug. As she does so, she looks to see if Skye's mug could use a refill too.
Skye Johnson	Skye smirks slightly over her mug of soup. "Dome was totally me. I don't know what I was thinking. I had a brief moment I thought I could get out. Stupid, really. Not only was there nowhere for me to go, soon as I shot the dome, water came pouring in. Karl was pissed." For all the reasons. She sobers as she recalls the lab incident. "I don't know. He was there observing when they did this to me. He's not human. Half his face was falling off. Not sure why I didn't realize it before." She turns to May. "He worked for SHIELD. About 70 years ago. Computer stuff. At least I think so. He was ranting at me about how you were just going to use me up and throw me away. Something about his wife dying? How we let her die. Ilsa? I think that was it. He's been trying to get back at SHIELD ever since. I was just a side line. He knew about the crystals. I guess that's now." Then there's another smirk as Clint asks about her trip from basement to dome. "Yeah. Hopped up on painkillers. Technician helped. She wanted me to get the others out. Made it to the 5th floor comms without much fuss. After that I had to shoot my way through the mobs. I had a pretty nice collection of guns in the end."
Clint Barton	"Right on!" Clint says about the dome, reaching forward to offer a high-five. Yes it was a dumb move but hell, like he could throw stones. He was a frequent flier in both the SHIELD and Avengers med bays for a reason. "Well definitely not human," Clint agrees. "I mean seventy years ago? Looked thirty-ish, right? From your reports. And guessing he was still going with half his face missing huh?" he was holding out hope they'd done him in once and for all. There is a grin at Skye fighting her way up through the base, he looks to May, "We do good work, don't we?" he says, having shared elements of Skye's training. ...Okay so it was mostly May, but Clint's taking some of the credit there.
Melinda May	May stops short when Skye mentions that Karl was bent on revenge due to his wife dying. ILSA. It's not instantaneous, but she KNOWS that name is important somehow. But. she also doesn't want to freak Skye out any worse. So she feigns nonchalance and reclaims her phone. "We do good work, Barton? Really?" Yes, she's busting his chops for taking credit there, but it's mostly teasing and very much a distraction technique while she types a message to Ops to pull any intel they have on anyone named Ilsa having died on SHIELD's watch within the past seventy years. "I'll grant you that you taught her how to fire a bow," she offers.
Skye Johnson	Skye grins again, "Lara did." Which was true. Clint helped hone her skills, but Lara had been her first teacher. It had been a surprise Skye had held for Clint. One of their first bets. They wagered him moving in on tht one. Things had gone sideways.. and then they hadn't. That was kind of how things went with them. Life threw curve balls, and they refused to give in to them. "He's not alive. Not anymore. That's the bit I was missing. He's a consciousness. And he's got access somehow." She nods to them both, but especially to May. "Yeah. Not sure I'd have made it without what you taught me." But Clint gets his own acknowledgement. "You saved me from Hydra, though. You were the only real thing in my mind. Well, you and SHIELD. They tried."
Clint Barton	"What it's true," Clint says with a grin about their good work. Even though, yes May had done most of it. The bit about Lara gets laugh that's half groan. "Low blow Keyboard, low blow." "Wait... like not even a person?" he asks as he clues in. "He's a machine?" Just don't tell Vision he said that! Well, Vision is different really. Back on track. "Crazy," he says. "So like a literal ghost in the machine. Huh. Well if we find his hard drive in the wreckage, we'll just have to toss it on the world's biggest magnet." Clint nudges her foot when she explains how he'd helped her. "Just glad you made it back," he says, giving her a heartfelt smile.
Melinda May	"That's why we taught you, Skye. So you would have a chance of getting out." She looks at her phone again when a message appears to come back, and she looks from it to Clint. It's very clearly a 'just learned something new about this mess' look. And yet, she puts her phone back down. She sips at her mug of soup the offers seemingly idly, "Sounds like one of those Life Model Decoy things. I really hate them."
Skye Johnson	Skye frowns at Clint. "You kind of miss the point. If he's got a hard drive, it doesn't matter if he went down with the base. He's already in their network. He's pure code. And we helped set them up with their network. All those satellites we activted during Rising Tide? That's what he wanted." And, she had to admit, she was partially responsible, suggesting to Fury that they let Hydra think they'd forgotten about them, or didn't know about the co-opting of the old stand-alone network, and use it against Hydra, to keep an eye on them. When, instead, Karl knew full well and was using the very same against SHIELD.
Clint Barton	Clint cocks his head when it's clear May's learned something, but he doesn't press. He knows it's useless, May would speak when the time was right. As for Life Model Decoys, "Ugh, yeah not a fan," he says. "But that's what it sounds like," he turns to Skye. "It's basically what you described a robot body for someome to remote control." The rest sinks in. "Shit, Skye," he says, "So basically all the stuff after Tidepool, that's all part of his plan?"
Melinda May	May finishes her soup quickly, though hopefully not so much that Skye notices. "This all sounds far too convenient. I think I need to get back to Central, share what Skye's told us with the analysts there." Not that they haven't already started crunching data with what they've got so far. "And also to have them take anything they're doing from here out offline." Even if that means just disconnecting their computers from the building network or going so far as to use pen and paper only. "Do either of you need anything before I go?"
Skye Johnson	Skye looks up from her half empty mug of soup. "You're going to want a proper debriefing, aren't you? About what happened. And.." She flounders. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. They did something to me. We all saw what I did." Notably, she doesn't limit it to just mmedical this time. "I'm not safe."
Clint Barton	Nodding to May, Clint says, "Good plan, keep it where he can't get access." He glances around. "Might be good to take the apartment off the network too. Just to be safe." And also, the idea of Karl watching them here, living their lives creeped him the hell out. When Skye begins to flounder, Clint's soup is set aside and he reaches out a hand to her. "She's not wrong May, we need to figure out what's going on, help Skye get on top of it."
Melinda May	May takes her mug to the kitchen and when she returns, she puts a warm hand on Skye's shoulder. "You just did your debriefing. And what you're supposed to do tonight is finish that broth and rest. We'll deal with everything else tomorrow." She nods to Clint at his suggestion to take their quarters offline, then after a moment's pause pulls a blanket from an adjacent chair and drops it over Skye's legs (and Clint's feet). "If either of you think of anything, let me know right away. I'll come here and we can talk about it."
Skye Johnson	"That was it?" Skye was aware she'd got off lightly. There was so much more that she could have (and likely should have) been asked. She appreciates it, though. Knows full well that she's being accorded some leeway here due to the nature of her case, and the files SHIELD has had on her her entire life. "I have some programs that run here specifically," she admits. "Off the grid. Totally not SHIELD protocol. I'd like it if they could stay in place." She's not asking to be the one to take them off grid, in order to hide them, but that's an option. Dutifully, Skye takes another sip of her broth. "It's good," she admits. "And I'm guessing tomorrow it's medical?"
Clint Barton	Yeah, there was a lot more to ask, but Clint guessed it was better to get some of the info now than keep pushing and possibly set the room to shaking. Idly, he thinks Darcy could have made some hay with that last thought. Before taking a sip of his soup he asks, "I'm good to stay here, right?" If he wasn't things were going to be interesting. He'd never broke back into his own quarters before.
Melinda May	"I'd prefer that, Barton," May replies. It's actually better that he stays for multiple reasons, the least of which is that this is his home. "Skye, I'm going to let you choose how much if any connection you want your quarters to have with the rest of the building." That's not something usually offered, because it's just NOT allowed. "And yes, tomorrow is Medical again. I know it's going to suck," and how much was the bet for May EVER saying that word aloud? "but it's a necessary evil."
Skye Johnson	"Most of the stuff is utility." Like turning off the artificial days. And those stupid birds. And making it so that not everything in their quarters was accessible or recordable. Okay, so that last one was a little less utility, but she knew Fury had to know that one was in place and he'd let it be. And given what was going on now, Skye figured that one could stay as well. She wasn't unaware of the leeway she'd been given all along, or that she was once again getting, this time via May. "Medical in the morning. I promise. I'm guessing I'm not allowed out of the building or off the grounds either, huh?"
Clint Barton	Clint nods, "Great," he says about him being allowed to stay. He doesn't comment on Skye's changes, but he knew about the damn birds and a few other cosmetic changes to the code. As for the last, he's all ears on that one. "Sticking around her wouldn't be so, right?" he asks. Especially with Karl still out there. "And sucks?" he asks May. He can't help it.
Melinda May	"Yes, first thing," May says to Skye. "And it's not been explicitly stated that you're to stay in the building, but I think after last time maybe you should try staying in, hm?" She levels a 'don't even' look at Clint, though really, if he were to he were to be a little extra obnoxious right now and make Skye cheer up a bit, she'd be willing to tolerate it. However, she can't be the straight man for him anymore at the moment. She wants to get this intel to Ops. Immediately.
Skye Johnson	Skye's foot pokes Clint. "Just where were you going anyway? We live together." It didn't even occur to her that perhaps she'd be isolated until they figured out what happened to her. And between the two of them, May and Clint, they finally crack a grin from Skye. Because May really had said 'sucks' and Skye had been there to witness it.
Clint Barton	Clint smiles, "Oh you know wander randomly, crash on Tony's couch. I had options," he teases back. "But I guess since all my stuff is here..." He doesn''t bring up the possibility of more extreme measures. "Anyhow, thanks for the soup May., we'll stick to the Trisk and see you in medical tomorrow." He gives her a look that wasn't at all joking. "I promise." He'd made this mistake before. He wasn't looking to do it again.
Melinda May	"You're NOT couch-surfing at my place, Barton. No matter how hard you try to copy Captain Rogers' sad puppy face." May finally heads for the door. "And I expect reimbursement for the soup. But not tomorrow. Another day. See you both tomorrow."