1965-01-15 - If no one's dating why are we all in trouble?!
Summary: Everyone's invading the lab today, a telenovella breaks out, and Leo and Teddy engage in the public knowedge of the Kree
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
thea clint fitz teddy 


Fewer people were dedicated to the cause than the moles: Those R&D crew that worked tirelessly and never really popped back up above ground to see daylight. Leo was busy getting all of his steps in for the day working on what looked like some sort of hand pistol. At the far end of the lab was a small assembled cinder block wall with several holes in it and piles of rubble sprinkled in front and behind it and scorch marks on one side. Oops.


"Fitzmittens," Clint announces himself in the lab as he rounds the corner, the doors granting him easy access while the archer fiddles with a small metalic payload in one hand, twisting it between his fingers. On a mission beyond screwing with the scientist this afternoon, though he pauses a moment when he sees the scorch marks and the rubble. A slow smile curls on his mouth. "Who says field agents get to have all the fun." A little bit of a swagger in his step now, Clint tries not to look like a kid in a candy shop. "What're you getting yourself into now?"


Thea is looking for more chemicals - mostly the rubbing alcohol, because she's busy cleaning everything down in the med lab after a messy patient. It's always the big guys that flail and thrash the worst, which is always to Thea's amusement. The trousers are a royal blue, tailored to hang just so, with a mild taper to the ankle. The blouse is many shades paler, tucked in neatly, the sleeves rolled up along her forearms. There are tortoiseshell combs holding back blonde from her face, which is mostly unpainted but for a rosy lip and a touch of mascara. The only sparkle is at her ears, pale water colored stones that catch the light with her movement.


Fitz was squinting through a pair of jeweler's spectacles doing minute spot welding on the small device murmuring back to Clint, "Deeeefiniately not R&D. We get all the fun and almost no one" he looked up looking like a myopic mole with curly hair, "hardly ever shoots at us." The thoughtful brogue rolled to a stop as he noticed Thea, his tone turning to the matter-of-fact and somehow still-appologetic, "I had to borrow your isopropyl. Ours caught on fire. Long story. it's behind you on the shelf."


"Oh sure, rub it in," Clint comments dryly to the bespectacled engineer, an eyebrow arching upward faintly over the ENORMOUS eyes. "Why granny, what big eyes you have." Strolling toward Fitz's station, there's a pause and half pivot about to look in Thea's direction. "Hey, it's the nice nurse!" He looks at the rubble and scorch marks and points at it. "That was like that before I got here."


"Why do I think it's not a long story? Flame, alcohol.. go boom." Thea will counter with a bright smile for Fitz. Brown eyes will swing to Clint, giving him now that familiar once over examination. "Hey, it is the disappearing archer who gave me heart palpitations, the other night." She will respond to Clint with some sass. Then she'll turn at look at the cinder block wall. "Looks like I'm missing all the fun, hiding in Medical."


Fitz looks up at Clint, and those magnifiers just make his eyeballs huge blinking at him like some nature of cartoon until he flipped them up. He siiiiighed at Hawkeye, but Thea got a smile, "No story worth hearing is ever short." He Looked back to Clint and instead of answering his question addressed his comment on the wall, "Try not to make it worse. I need it for testing this, possibly for you."


Clint freezes for a moment, the small metallic piece still between his hands, idly positioned between fingers. He smoothly crosses his feet, spinning about once and gives Thea some muted jazz hands (with one hand while he holds on to his trinket). "Tah dah?" As if it were the end of a magic trick.


"Testing? And what is this fun thing we're testing?" Yes, she fixes people when things go wrong, but that doesn't mean she can't like messing up someone else's day. The look on her face strongly suggests she'd like to mess up Barton's day when he acts like it was magic, stepping his way, a poke in the chest. "You pulled that on me, and I didn't know if he was going to leave you dead in a ditch! You ruined my wine buzz, I actually worried about you… you.." It takes her a moment, before her foot will stomp, probably closer than comfortable to his toes. "You jackass!" Such language!


Fitz took a deep breatha nd flipped the glasses back down and pointed to teh end by the wall addressing them both, "Ballistis testing goes down there." So helpful. Leave is to the UK to turn out dry humor like the French turn out dry wine. "Well we're working on a compact grappling system that works on a magnetic principal not unlike a miniaturized rail gun."


Straight to the chest, Barton doesn't react too much from the poke aside from dropping his hands, shifting his feet slightly when Thea stomps. "But he didn't. So what are you bent out of shape about?" Attempting to diffuse the situation, though his casual air is just as likely to encite more anger than less, Clint looks back to Fitz. "Don't encourage her right now. A grapple based off the rail gun structure? Projectile capable, or is the payload too large?"

Magnetic grapple arrow, bro!


"Because you ruined a perfectly good evening out, letting him take you for some joy ride. I'd like to think if some weirdo pulled me into thin air and disappeared me, you would be concerned." Thea will nearly snarl it through her clenched teeth, that poking hand pulling back and fisting. It would be so tempting, to just hit him. It isn't like she couldn't fix him after.

But her hand will drop away to her side, rubbing against her skirt as if to brush away that violent impulse. Her attention shifts much more fully to Fitz, and she'll dare get a little closer. "Magnetic, versus the old school hook method? How would that work, exactly?"


Pausing in the doorway to the lab, Teddy looks in but doesn't enter once he sees the scientist isn't alone. "Heya Fritz. Sirs." he adds. He's wearing a SHIELD uniform with the name tag reading HULKLING. "I'll come back later since I see you're busy."


Fitz looked up to Teddy with a wide grin, "Not at all. In fact it's nice to see you in non-life threatening situations. I, um," He looked over his shoulder at Thea and Bartongesturing with his thumb vaguely moutheing <No idea what's happpening here.> It was CLint he looked to with a hint of regret, "Well, in //theory/ yes… but everything we're hitting it tih right now seems to get demolished on contact rather than leave enough for a secure line to secure to. But in theory over time Grappling arrow or side arm that is far more compact. THe goal," he answered Thea, "would be to have something a lady could cary on her person, hit a neighbouring building and attach a hand hook to as an imprompteau but stable zipline. Well or anyone else. Fashion's seen fit to deny them pockets so I'm giving them accessories. But in theory? Could fit ina quiver." He looked between Clint and Thea. "Clint what did you do?" He turned to Thea, "Do I want to know what he did?"


Clint takes the verbal lashing from Thea, rather unmoved, but he doesn't put up a defense, either. A watchful flick of his gaze touches her balled hands, though he doesn't seem convinced that she's going to actually hit him at any point. Or he's just accepted it as an inevitability. Eh. His only point is to comment impassively, "So, why are you yelling at me, again?"

Lifting his attention toward the door when Teddy pokes his head in. Tossing the little metal bauble in the air casually, "Altman. C'mon in. I was just on my way out before the nurse here anesthetizes me and leaves me in a bathtub, a kidney light." Clicking his tongue against his molars, Clint winks at Teddy and pivots smoothly to turn toward Fitz while he drifts toward the door. "I'll come by later. I might have a couple ideas for your problem, and I want to talk to you about /this/," holding the thing he's been playing with since he walked in. "Oh. I got kidnapped and she's angry at me about it. Because, you know," Clint walks back to the doorway, clapping a hand on the frame, his tone dry as the sahara. "I asked for it, I guess. Catch you around!"


Thea's head turns to look at Teddy, a faint frown at 'Sirs'. She will give Clint a sidelong look, as if to silently ask him if she's turned into some man looking creature, suddenly. She doesn't think so, but maybe some ladies get upset at being called ma'am. Thea has no idea, and will brush the idea away.

"Because you need to be yelled at for at least not letting me know that you were not, in fact, dead or dying in a ditch somewhere. Did it not occur to you that I would care that you had disappeared?" There's an arch of a brow, shaking her head. "Kidnapped my foot. Looked willing enough to me, just vanishing into thin air at a party in front of me. While I was healing your cheek, to boot." Hmmph. Rude.

Her head tilts, looking at the wall, then at the dohickey Fitz is working on. "The idea fascinates, even if I am not sure entirely how the science will function with some buildings." There's that glance again. "Provided we avoid accidental conflagration, right?"


Teddy looks from Fitz to Clint to Thea then back to Clint. "Oh, I get it." he says, nodding in understanding. "You were in danger, she was worried and now you're safe, she's taking it out on you. It's easier to be angry than tell someone they were scared. I think lots of couples react that way."


Clint snaps his fingers and points at Teddy, "Give the kid a prize! And don't tell her boyfriend she was worried. He's the jealous type." With that, Clint leaves.


Fitz looked confused at Thea and CLint, "Oh Thea, you may want to invest in antacid stock. These guys go into teh field head down all the time. . I dind't know you were seeing one another. Odd." Hmm. Well that was new ne- Oh hey. The goggles flipped up and Fitz fell quiet like a cat watching a bug moving on the wall, eyes locked on the cartiridge in Clint's hand. He blinked and nodded to him soberly, "Come by around 11. I'm in all night, but I should have all this cleaned up by then and we can dive into that." Still he nodded with Teddy. "Working of trying to scale back some things. How've you been?"


"No, I'm annoyed he didn't tell me that he was safe, after being rude." Thea clarifies. "I'm not seeing Barton, as he constantly likes to throw in my face by mentioning my boyfriend at every opportunity. My not jealous type boyfriend, actually. My boyfriend who understands I can be a woman who works and is friends with many kinds of men." It's clear that she's regretting not punching Clint, at the moment. "Not that Barton knows much of anything about any of it, since he doesn't want to listen to anything but what he wants to hear." She will take a deep breath, a glance at Fitz. "Well, if and when you get it to work approximately the way you're hoping, I'd be a willing test subject."


Wait, boyfriend? Not a couple? Teddy glances over at Thea but studiously turns back to Fritz. Nope, nothing to see here. Definitely not a woman trying to convince everyone she's doesn't have feelings for someone. "Umm, pretty good. Wanted to ask you what you knew about the Kree. But if you're busy, I can ask you another time."


Fitz furrowed his brow and looked confused, "If you have a boyfriend why would he be calli- You know we have a roster check in board it's here if that helps. I mean that's groovy that you're concerned." He looked to Teddy very confused. Unsurprising he was asking someone else to explain the nussance of relationship protocol here as he was pretty much singularly married to his work these days. It was what Teddy said that pulled him back, "Well we know they're here, and I belieeeeeve we may have some of their tech floating around but I'd have to see if I can get a clearance bypass to work on that. That's still sitting fairlly top level. But yes, that was one of two projects I was called in to consult on."


Thea lifts her eyebrows at both of the men. "Because boyfriend or not, I still have concern for my friends of the male gender, despite the fact I'm not dating them? My phone line is not restricted to only be dialed into by who I am dating. Any man who thinks his girlfriend should only call and be called by him, doesn't deserve to have a girlfriend. There's this thing called trust, gentlemen. " Unlike the heated anger Clint would have likely gotten, the spoken response is anything but heated.

She goes quiet after that, mention of the Kree rendering her silent. She has nothing to offer on the subject, surely she doesn't have clearance to know much. "I will get my isopropyl and get out of your hair, Doctor Fitz. Just leave me a note next time you borrow it, so I don't worry someone's making off with it for ill gotten reasons." There's humor there, voice warming notably. "Like setting it on fire."


"Oh, okay." Teddy runs a hand over his hair as he considers what Fitz said. "Well, anything you can tell me would be great. I'm probably technically not cleared to know about it but since I was there from almost day one when the Skrulls were trying to take over, it seems silly not to tell me what's going on. I suppose I should ask the Director for special clearance or something." Thea just gets a noncommital nod. Not going to argue, disagree, or even look like he has a comment to make. Nope.


Fitz wa not good with being chirped at for trying to understand and be helpful. He reminded himself. Helplessly he defended, "I was using it to clean the steal before setting flux. I didn't know that was ill gotten gains." He looked to Teddy and offereda half smile, "That I do remember from the last trip here. Absolutely. Talk to Director Carter or Agent Fury. Ooooooh! There may be a debriefing soon. If you go back out into the field find me first at least. I have a pile of things to test but, ya know, I rarely get to go on these things. Need hands." He let his mind wander, "Had we a monkey this would help. Fury stills aid no though."


There's a laugh. "So long as we can find more, I don't actually care if you purloin from my stash, Doctor. I was teasing you about how yours… was mysteriously set on fire." There's a tug of a smile at her mouth. "Though I'd love the actual story, sometime." She will take the essential alcohol to head for medical. "Wish you the best on unravelling alien tech, boys!"


"Well, that would need to be cleared but sure, if they say it's okay." Teddy agrees. "I don't usually use… well, stuff though. But I suppose I could try to test things out." Thea gets a blink since he's not the type to unravel anything dealing with tech but he just nods. "Yes, Ma'am."


Fitz hrugeed and said without much fanfare, but a bit if disappointment, "One of hte ballistics didn't operate as planned. Exploded and caught a couple things up on that side of the room. Small but, well at least it burns clean I suppose." He looked to Teddy and shrugged. "it's not volatile?" He watched Thea leave and added to his mate, "Unlike other things that come and go in the lab apparently."


Teddy grins at Fitz' comment. "Yeah. So glad I don't have to deal with that. Bad enough when my mom gets on my case about not calling her that I'll be home late." Pause. "When I lived at home, I mean. I don't any more. But it was a pain. Does she really have a boyfriend? Cause that sure sounded like Clint is."


Fitz looked to Teddy and finally relaxed a bit. Teddy was a familiar face and the professional protocols' were dropped. After all he was in his lab. Yay lab! He did confide, "My mum still asks me to check with her. Not that she knows about any of …this… but I try to make sure I call her. If we don't look after them theough mums can get up to so much trouble." He shook his head like what are we going to do about them." Still his eyes drift back to the door and observed, "I can't say I've ever been involved in a relationship in a while, but you know casual concernis usually for friends, not… affectionate bullying. But I'm glad I'm not the only one that got that impression."


"Oh, yeah. Definitely did. I surprised they're /not/ together. Which maybe bothers her as much as anything." Teddy adds thoughtfully but then shrugs. "I don't know. I don't get girls and how they think. Guys make so much more sense." For all Fitz is a techie nerd, he's still a guy.


Fitz looked helpless on the topic and confided to Teddy, "Yeah, pretty much why I don't date generally. Also my hours here are just rubbish for free time. You know what though, I'm not in the relationship, I'm not qualified to really draw conclusions on it I suppose." He considered it and shook his head, "You know in nature it's generally regarded that the female of the speciaes is more deadly than the male… I'm seeing thi is unchanged."


"Yeah? Even more glad I don't need to deal with that." Cause he's not dating and for no other reason. "Anyway." Teddy continues. "There anything you can tell me about the Kree that's not classified? I know they appeared at the UN so there's gotta be some stuff."


Fitz folded his amrs and rifled through his head on the history index of the Kree to his extend and then parsed out what they were presently clear to discuss, "Weeeeell," The goggels came down and now that the maelstron was out of his workspace he resumed trying to work on the seating mechanism for the row of magnets. "Well Alien tech was found in teh South Pacific which is giving new power to teh pressure in Vietnam, soooo that's fun." Fun in the not at all fun sense, "And apparently some lost cit was found on the ocean floor of the East China sea though that may not be entirely accurate an account, but was how they phrased it. aright now hte world is up in arms on salvage rights to it, and I don't blame them. A few Kree showed up in person, like very tall blue roman gladiators, and told Earth there was issue here and that it need be dealt with. Really, the feed became a bit sustepct. THey didn't seem to levy arms though which was interesting from teh relay."


"I saw a picture of them though it wasn't really clear." Teddy says, moving over to lean a hip against one of the counters. "Did they say what the issue is? As far as I know, both they and the Skrulls want Earth for themselves. And they're trying to get the Skrulls off the planet so this is probably related."


Fitz pulled his cheeks in and was curious about this himself, "That is information at present that I don't have. I mean we know the Skrulls replicate and replace, but I'm not certain what the Kree are up to. Aside from getting Earth in a tizzy we might ery well be on the converge or break down point. From a socio-economic standpoint there's nothing saying they aren't baiting us to watch us take ourseves ou tof hte equasion, but one of the others may have more infoo on that than I do. Usually they jsut say Fitz get us in, get us out, not why are these people here generally. But," He paused from the miniature spot welding looking up at Hulkling, "Would love to hear Fury's take on it."


"I don't really have any details." Teddy says, shaking his head. "I have no idea what they're really planning but I don't think it's to get us blow ourselves up. After all, they have really advanced tech right? Much more advanced than us. And we have nuclear bombs. They could probably blow up the planet if they wanted."


Fitz says, "Yes but it's cheaper to let a colony implode than invest into its eradication and easier on salvage." That might sound a tad callous or histile coming from the mild mannered Doctor. He shrugged, "Happens in wasp colonies all the time. I won't say I'm not concerned.""


"Maybe." Teddy allows, conceding the point. "I don't know anything about them." Or about wasps for that matter. "That's why I'm asking. Do you think you could get your hands on some tape of them close up? I only saw a picture of them and they were in the back. I might need to look like one someday." As he talks, he grows in height, turns blue and his uniform becomes a duplicate of what Ronan was wearing. At least, an approximate of it based on a not very good pic.


Fitz considered this and held up a finger, "You know, We must have had hands on deck. We should see what we have. Yeah, That I can ask. I'll put in a materials request and see what we get." He paused and asked curiously, "I wonder if we cna go to the news station and use a government level request for copies of any footage they have. ABC should have something. They've worked with SHIELD before even if they might not be aware."


Teddy shrinks back down into Teddy. "Good idea. Both of them. I'm not planning on infiltrating any Kree spaceships but you never know. I wasn't planning on infiltrating any Skrull spaceships either." Glancing up at a clock, he says "I need to get back. Let me know when you learn something. And if you could talk to the Director, that would be great."


Fitz watched the change with jsut an appreciable awe really. Teddy was jsut a science wonder. There were many that were weirded out around supers. Fitz seemed to take this in stride as a wonderful thing yet to be understood prommising him there was always more to learn adn that made him a very happy scientist. "We should make an appointment to talk to her. Director carter is as brilliant as she is reasonable. That said, yes, I'll be happy to forward anything I get that I can pass along to you."


"Thanks." Teddy gives Fitz a smile. The scientist was the first SHIELD agent he'd ever met and the first one to know he was part alien. Or so the theory goes. "Need anything, you know how to reach me. Talk to you later, Fitz."


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