001 | voice

[hardedged]

[ the network post begins with a disgruntled exhale. great way to start, jones. nice first impression. clearly, this mysterious new arrival is glad to be here. ]

I'll make this quick and painless. The name's Jessica Jones, and I'm looking for answers.

They brand us like cattle. Expect us to play house. Assign crapass jobs.

And of all the places to wage the Cold War 2.0, they pick fucking Florida. [ she scoffs, as if that's somehow the worst offense of all. ] How do we leave this shithole?

[ there's a pointed beat of silence, as she presses her lips together in contemplation. almost as an afterthought, she adds: ]

And where can I get a drink around here? The cheaper, the better.

Comments

[hardedged]

Clearly you've never lived alone.

[pretendtoneedme]

Yeah, I have. And I am right now. Sounds like they put you in one of the houses, then?

[hardedged]

What the hell? [ that's probably enough of an answer for him. ] How come you get a free pass?

[pretendtoneedme]

[Yeah, that's an answer all right. Clint sighs, shrugs - he has no idea, either.]

Luck of the draw? I've lived alone and with a lot of other people in close quarters, so I don't know. You can ask to move housing, though, if you're so hellbent on living alone.

[hardedged]

Or maybe I should just hang out with the big green guy, and I'll get special treatment too.

[ it's because he's an avenger, right? this place is fixated on the whole hero thing. god. ]

[pretendtoneedme]

[Well if that's not a clue, nothing is. Clint's used to not going recognized all that much because he'd taken care to keep out of the way of cameras as much as possible, but he is still an Avenger (or was), and especially after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell his face was all over the internet from those files. This woman's clearly from home if she recognizes him.]

The big green guy just wanted to be left alone, not get special treatment. And there's other people who were already superheroes sharing living space here. Can't tell you why I'm not.

[It's probably because of Wanda, but Clint's never laid all his cards on the table at once before, so he's still not now.]

[hardedged]

[ honestly, until now, jessica couldn't be sure it was him. she's kept an eye out on the news, and the tabloids always loved to pretend they had the latest scoop on all of them. but if there's one thing she does well, it's bluff. looks like her gamble paid off. ]

Guess you don't have crapass luck.

[ that makes one of them. ]

[pretendtoneedme]

[Ahh, the goddamn tabloids. Man he hates those things, they always just make everything up out of bullshit and skewed viewpoints. He still vividly remembers the furor that went up when they saw Nat was wearing a necklace with an arrow on it and decided it meant the two of them were secretly married. Nat laughed for days over that one.]

I've had more than you're thinking I have. Being here's not my idea of a good time, I've got shit to take care of back home.

[He's got a family to get back to and friends that need him.]

[hardedged]

[ hey, he's not the only one. ]

Don't worry. I'm sure they've got spandex in your size somewhere.

[pretendtoneedme]

[Did you want an eyeroll, Jess? You're getting an eyeroll, along with crossing his arms in annoyance.]

Hell no, I crossed over with a tac suit, if they want me to be a hero here they can deal with me wearing something that makes it harder for me to get shot.

[hardedged]

[ just as planned. her smirk widens, not that he can see it. ]

Where's the fun in that?

[pretendtoneedme]

[Not that he cares, really. Honestly, if she's not as growly because she's needling him, he can deal with that. He deals with Nat. He's got a thick skin.]

The fun's in not being shot. That's one thing I'm fine with never going through again, I prefer having my blood on the inside of my body.

[hardedged]

Don't we all.

[pretendtoneedme]

Some people'd prefer ours was outside. There's a new crop of natives that got powers a couple weeks ago, some of them are attacking imPorts. So whatever the Porter gave you, you might not want to show it off right away.

[She's from home, so Clint's gonna be a touch concerned about her. But if her attitude's anything to go by, she can take care of herself pretty well.]

Something to keep in mind.

[hardedged]

Thanks, birdman. I think I'm good.

[pretendtoneedme]

[That one gets a smirk.]

Got it wrong - I'm not the birdman, the guy with actual wings is the birdman. Wanna try again?

[He can really be a smartass if he wants.]

[hardedged]

[ dove dude? pigeon prick? shithead sparrow? she huffs a dry breath. ]

Pass. There are too many of you assholes to keep track.

[pretendtoneedme]

Not that many. There's only ever been ten of us on the team.

[Of course there's the outliers that aren't a part of the team or even associated with the team at all, but still. He's not lying.]

[hardedged]

Then I just don't care enough to remember.

[ either way. ]

[pretendtoneedme]

Awww, but it's fun. You can collect all the action figures and claim to be more hipster than everyone - 'see, I know all of them! You only know the ones that showed up when the aliens did!'

[Okay yeah, now he's deliberately baiting her. He's a little shit sometimes, did he mention that?]

[hardedged]

[ EYE. ROLL. ]

Don't quit your day job. You'd be shit at stand-up.

[pretendtoneedme]

Don't need to be good at stand up. That tone of voice is its own reward.

[troooolll in the dungeon]