Are We Ourselves? - Missing In Action, Pt. I

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

After returning to the safe house later that day, the group realizes one of their own hasn't made it back.

Clint knocked his boots off at the door again, beginning the process of shedding layers as he made his way toward the kitchen. He kept a hold on his backpack, though, sitting it on the counter once he got there. "Just waitin' on Kyle now," he said, pulling his beanie down a little more firmly to cover his ears. "Shouldn't be too long. While we wait, who wants which kind of calzone? I got two with everything veggie, four with everything meat, two with three different kinds of cheese, and four with just pepperoni. I gotta reheat 'em, so there's time to make a hot drink or whatever, too."

"I want one of the everything meat and one of the just pepperoni," Natasha called out without looking up from her computer screen. She'd backdoored her way into the SHIELD and SWORD facility's closed circuit security feeds, since that was where the strangeness that had raised Coulson's attention originated. But so far, that had turned up squat. The other businesses had equipment that barely deserved to be called security cameras. The footage was so grainy that the images were barely more than outlines. "Just put on a fresh pot of hot cocoa. You stumble upon anything more interesting than the abominable snowman?"

Topaz had finally taken off her jacket and gloves (though the gloves had mostly been because she needed to be able to type), but she still had a hat pulled down tight over ears and when she wasn't typing her fingers were wrapped firmly around a hot cup of tea. Like Natasha, she didn't look up from her computer when Clint walked in, though she wasn't really doing anything as thrilling as the other woman - she'd spent most of the day watching the Facebook page and checking other websites to learn more about the missing people. "Veggie please," she said distantly, tugging her hat down a bit more.

Molly was also wearing a hat, a red beanie, but she normally did that anyway so there was nothing out of place there. She was curled up in a chair, and stretched a little as Clint arrived. "Cheese please!" she said. Cheese was awesome. "Also, thanks for the info you got from that guy on how satellites work! Totally helped with trying to figure out what's up with the National Weather Service saying there's some massive weather system that's really... not very massive or like... here at all, since the sky was clear when we got here. And is still clear. I'm sorting it out, but so far it looks like there might not be anything wrong with the satellites themselves, more like something jamming the signal."

"Three all-meat calzones for Kyle, one for Nat, a veggie for Topaz, a cheese for Molly, two pepperonis for me, and one pepperoni for Nat," Clint half-hummed the line-up for the calzones under his breath even as he listened to what Molly was saying. Pushing the unclaimed calzones into the fridge, he slid the others onto a couple baking sheets and put them in the oven. Turning around to face the women, he nodded. "No problem. But uh..." His expression turning decidedly shifty, Clint coughed just a little and said, "Let's not mention that zip file with the satellite info in it to anybody else, though. Like, outside this room. It's edging a little bit into slightly illegal territory ,and I'd really rather not get my contact in trouble. I should be hearing from my weather dude in the next half hour, though. Sat phones for the win!"

"The whole point of us being up here is hush-hush so that should go without saying." Natasha looked up at mention of the sat phone. "Spot anything suspicious while you were out? I've got nothing but empty corridors, snow, and dirt. Some SHIELD personnel doing un-SHIELD-like things, but anyone could go stir crazy up here."

God people on Facebook were stupid. Topaz rejected another friend request from what she could only assume was a porn profile - if the picture was anything to go by - and opened a new tab to check in with the town bulletin page. "Yeah, can't really blame them if they go a bit mad and start dancing up and down the halls to the Macarena," she muttered distantly, only half paying attention to what Natasha was saying. She claimed her tea once more, frowning when she felt that it was lukewarm.

"Interestingly," Clint said, "I did not see anyone dancing down halls doing the Macarena." He checked the calzones, then straightened and took a few steps into the living room as he continued, "I did, however, find out there was an airport mechanic who came into town a couple weeks before things started getting weird. Kyle and I figured it wasn't a coincidence. He ran into some anti-mutant asshats, but also several people who were just happy to have somebody around capable and willing to do the work he's been doing. So I figure refocusing on the mechanic and the airport might be a good starting point. Couldn't get any first-hand descriptions of the mechanic, though, so maybe try that? You'd need to rewind the tapes about four weeks at this point - I couldn't get an actual date on anything."

Natasha was already typing in the search parameters to pull up the relevant files. "Alaska does have a weird effect considering we seem to have switched codenames. I'm stuck here sitting and watching things while you get to have all the fun." Her tone was practically a pout. There was a tense moment until the first video started to play and revealed itself to be somewhat better than what she had been dealing with.

Before Clint could respond to Natasha, his sat phone started ringing. Waggling his eyebrows, he headed back toward the stove to check the calzones again.

"Alright Barton, I have your info ready," the man on the other end on the line said.

"Jonny-boy! Lay it on me," Clint said, squinting at the calzones through the oven window before shrugging to himself bracing his hip against the counter.

"I'm sending you a crash course in meteorology and the local area in question. It should get you up to speed, enough to at least look like you know what you're talking about if you get questioned by the NWS," Jon said.

There was a slight pause as Clint considered what the other man had said, then a slow grin spread over his face. "Hey, if anybody from anywhere gets in touch and asks," he said, "You know nothing, Jon Snow."

Jon let out a sigh, like a patient mother with an overenthusiastic child. "Wow, good one," he deadpanned, pressing send. "I knew I should have changed my name after that dreadful show started getting popular. You should be getting the data pack at any moment."

"It was your name first," Clint said, amused. "And the books were out for ages before the show, I think." Holding the phone away from his mouth and covering the receiver with his hand, he looked over toward Molly. "Hey, you should be getting the thing shortly."

"Sweet," Molly said, holding up a hand for a high five. She was eyeing her future meal from her place in the living room while trying not to giggle at the one-side of the conversation she was hearing. "So his name's really Jon Snow?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny this gentleman's real name," Clint said, grinning as he gave Molly the high five. "Your thing'll get to you in two days, Jon. I'll forward you the tracking info so you can keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the info." He hung up a moment later, frowning down at his watch. "Any of you guys hear from Kyle after 1400?"

Molly squinted at the use of military time and realized he meant 2:00pm. "No... that's bad, right?"

"Maybe he's tryin' to find food that isn't made of penguin," Topaz spoke up as she picked up her tea, only to remember that it was cold. She frowned and went to the kitchen to heat it up.

"Excellent snark, Princess Brit. A+," Clint said, looking toward Natasha, eyebrows raised.

Natasha shook her head. "Nope, nothing." She picked up her Thermos and took a sip of hot cocoa.

Pulling the calzones out of the oven, Clint divvied them up onto plates and carried them into the living room. "Okay, he's got training, he can handle himself. If he hasn't made contact by 0700... I'll check things out - look for him, let you guys continue your remote observation and research." He left unsaid the fact that, if things didn't go according to plan, they'd need to initiate evacuation protocols and then try to call in some heavier artillery.

Natasha took her plate gratefully and blew on the calzone before taking a bite. It was too hot to eat just yet, but she wanted the warmth. She'd been assured that everyone here could take care of themselves when Clint had cobbled the team together. "You're still getting to have all the fun," she murmured. "And yes, we are set for whatever happens next."