so_hawkward | The Madripoor Pearl, Friday (Reply)

Kitty	With Clint taken to one of the rooms (still tied to a chair, poor thing) and the black AMEX card deemed totally real, Kitty had headed to the auction as Madame Masque. Which was a little nervewracking, since while she totally recognized people like Fisk and the Mandarin, she didn't know how Madame Masque dealt with them. She just reminded herself that they were all here competing with money for the same thing, and that even if she ended up unmasked, no one would know who she was. And then she got to drop like a billion dollars on this tape and shut down the auction. Sorry not sorry, SHIELD. Once she got back up to "her" room, she looked both ways down the hall to make sure no one was looking, and then phased through the wall and pulled off the mask, holding up the tape with her other hand. "So, I'm awesome."
Derek	"We're out of soap," Derek replied, ignoring that. Because he already knew that.
Kitty	"'Why yes, you are awesome, Kitty,'" she said. "I'll swipe some soap from another room. Just don't call up for more." What with the real Madame Masque totally tied up in the room and all.
Derek	"You're awesome," he deadpanned for that. "You got it?"
Kitty	"Yep. Sometimes a girl's gotta splurge, you know?" she said, heading straight to the TV with the tape. Bless you, Madripoor, and your adorable way of keeping VCR's in your fancy hotel rooms.
Derek	It was pretty quaint, wasn't it? Derek rolled his eyes, taking up a spot on the bed to see what was worth that much money to crazy rich people. "Next time spurge on an unoccupied room."
Kitty	"We won't be here much longer," Kitty said, sitting next to him with the remote in hand. And if she was slow in actually hitting play, it was because she wasn't sure she wanted to see it.
Derek	There, there, Kitty. Derek sat impassively as the tape started, showing footage of what appeared to be some sort of hostage situation. One that was abruptly brought to an end by Clint Barton by shooting one of the men in the head with an arrow. Well, two arrows, if you wanted to be specific about it. Yeah, he wasn't exactly surprised something like that would exist.
Kitty	It wasn't like Kitty hadn't seen way worse- hi, she knew Wolverine- but it was different watching your boyfriend of a year assassinate a guy and look okay with it. "He said this guy was a terrorist?" Shh, she wanted to feel better.
Derek	Derek shot her a look that said she was stupid for asking him what Barton said. Because. Well. Barton.
Kitty	"You could have lied and said yes," Kitty said.
Derek	"Yes." See, wasn't that comforting?
Kitty	"It's too late now," she said with a sigh. Kitty really didn't know if this was one of those things that made Clint think he was a terrible person, or a way for him to make up for some of those things. Knowing Clint, it could probably be both. Either way, she felt so much better having this tape instead of anyone else. "I should check on him," she said, standing.
Derek	Derek waved her away. "I think we can get out of here now that we have the tape."
Kitty	Kitty nodded, and went to grab her own clothes to change behind the bathroom door really quickly. If they were on their way out, she'd rather be walking around as some random brunette in jeans. Also she could not fill out Madame Masque's costume that well and it was uncomfortable. When she was done, she tossed the costume onto the bed and said, "I'll be back in a minute. Pack up whatever's ours."
Derek	Derek grunted, popping the tape out and shoving it into his jacket. "I'll keep an ear out." And hopefully not have to deal with their squirming friend on the floor. You know, the real Madam Masque?

Clint	At some point after being thrown into the bedroom--still tied to the chair because that was just one more thing to deal with in trying to escape--Clint nodded off from either exhaustion or head injury. Honestly, it was probably a little bit of both. It took a little while for Clint to wake back up, and all he wanted to do was bury his head under the pillow until the aching stopped. Unfortunately, he was still tied to a goddamn chair so that wasn't going to happen any time soon. He thought about yelling for food again, but just the thought of being loud made his stomach roll, and the last thing he needed right now was to be tied up and covered in vomit. This was why sending him solo missions was a terrible idea.
Kitty	Kitty really didn't know what to expect to feel right now, or if she should feel weird about this at all, but when she phased into the room she mainly wanted to make sure that he was all right. "Clint?" she asked, trying to stay quietish just in case anyone came near the door.
Clint	Clint picked his head up at the sound of his name, which turned out not to be a very smart idea. "Kitty? What are you--are you here or did I actually permanently damage my brain?"
Kitty	"Actually here," she said, climbing onto the bed to better untie him. "You are not allowed to go on a terrible vacation and get brain damage."
Clint	"This isn't exactly a vacation," Clint said. "Which is why you shouldn't be here. What are you doing here?"
Kitty	"Getting you out of trouble," Kitty told him, just going ahead and phasing the ropes off of him because it was easier than untying them. "See?"
Clint	"Hey, I was totally working on that," Clint lied. "You need to get out of here, it's not safe."
Kitty	"Please, I'm an X-Man. I'm the crazy person who runs towards the unsafe stuff," Kitty reminded him. "Besides, we got the tape. Time to go."
Clint	"What do you mean you got the tape? How did you--I thought Madame Masque was going to snatch it," Clint said, looking worried. She wasn't someone Kitty should have to mess with. Then, something else finally clicked in Clint's poor abused brain. "Wait, who's 'we?'"
Kitty	"Uh." This was where she expected to be yelled at, and she wouldn't exactly be able to blame him. "Before I say anything, remember you have to be quiet. But I was kind of playing Madame Masque back there, and the real one is tied up in her room being guarded by Derek which is why we need to get out of here." Maybe if she said it fast enough he might miss at least one name?
Clint	"You brought Derek?!" Clint said, somehow managing to keep himself at a hissing whisper. "You shouldn't be here, this is my crap to deal with, and of all the people to bring with you, you shouldn't have brought him." Clint pushed the chair away, letting it land with a satisfying crack. At least, he assumed that was what that noise was.
Kitty	"Guess what, when you get into trouble, it affects me too. Like it or not, we're in this crap together," Kitty pointed out. "And I wasn't going to go into this without help, and he did just that: help. Can we worry about getting out of here first and fight about this back home?" Though hey, fighting would distract them from anyone else in the room at the moment.
Clint	"Fine," Clint said, sounding anything but, and he shuffled himself off the bed just in time to see someone coming up behind Kitty. "Look out!" he yelled, tugging her away.
Kitty	Kitty moved with him, though she was instinctively phasing a second later- and phasing him with her, as long as he was touching her. She at least got a chance to see what was happening in the room- "Uh, Clint? Why are there ninjas?" Not the first time she'd had to ask something like that ever, but she hadn't thought she'd be asking it now.
Clint	Phasing with Kitty was pretty awesome, but there wasn't really time to tell her that now. "I really wish I knew." It was probably his fault somehow, because nothing could go remotely right when he was involved. Letting go of Kitty, Clint kicked at the ninja, hoping to at least get it away from her.
Kitty	Kitty meanwhile launched herself right at another ninja, because it was always kind of fun when she could beat them up and they couldn't even hit her 90% of the time. And once she'd knocked that one out, she called back, "So, getting out of here?"
Clint	"Definitely getting out of here," Clint said, landing a satisfying hit to one of the ninjas. Another one jumped on top of him, and Clint shoved himself back, aiming to slam the ninja between himself and nearest flat surface. Unfortunately, the nearest flat surface was a window and even though this was a nice hotel, it was still freaking Madripoor and the window gave way, taking Clint and the ninja with it. That was probably not what Kitty had meant.
Kitty	THE DOOR. USE THE DOOR. "Clint!" Kitty shrieked, and acted even quicker to slam the last ninja's head into the wall to knock him out just so she could rush to the window without worrying about being pushed out of it. Careful of the glass, she leaned out to look down, even though she was really scared to see what had happened.
Clint	It was probably good that she looked down, because Clint was looking up from where he was hanging onto the ledge with the ninja who'd jumped him hanging off his leg. "Okay, this looks bad," he said, smirking up at her. "That probably wasn't my smartest idea." He thought about kicking his attacker off, but that vengeful thought only lasted for a moment. Clint got a good grip going with one hand and let go with the other, reaching down towards the ninja. "Take my hand! Come on, take it!" he yelled. If he could just get a better hold on the guy, he and Kitty could get both of them back inside. Looking down, Clint could just barely make out the guy looking up at him and glaring through his mask. "Never," he said, letting go of Clint and taking Clint's shoe with him as he disappeared towards the ground. Clint watched him fall for a few moments, before sighing and sagging against the ledge. "Okay, I give up."
Kitty	Kitty couldn't really be too upset about having one less bad guy to worry about, and she was mainly just glad Clint was okay. "Not the words I want to hear right now, sweetie," she said, and cleared out enough of the glass that she could safely lean down and reach for his hand. "Can you reach?"
Clint	"Yeah, just give me a sec," Clint said, taking Kitty's hand and carefully hoisting himself up while trying to keep her away from the broken glass. He was so busy checking for more surprise ninjas that he didn't hear someone calling his name until the second time around, and he broke into a grin when he looked back out the window. "Agent Hill!" he said, waving as she slowed down on her flying hovercraft. He so needed to talk Fury into getting him one of those. "Agent Barton," she said with a nod, eying Kitty. "Tell me you've completed your mission." "Of course I did," Clint said with a grin, turning around quickly to Kitty. "Please tell me you can get Derek and the tape like right now?"
Kitty	"Yep," Kitty said, eyeing Hill right back. "Give me a minute and I'll get them both."

Derek	Unfortunately for Derek that, while those two were having fun fighting ninjas (Seriously? Ninjas? Marvel, get your life together.) he had been dealing with their captive's guards rushing in to find one tied up Madam Masque and one very annoyed man who did not work for her there. Derek tightened his hands into fists, straining to hear just where the hell Kitty was as he let them lead him out of the room. Oh, and he was even being threatened with putting cigarettes out on his face. He'd heard better from hunters, to be honest. An A for effort, though. He was herded into a room with an incredibly large man, and an objectively attractive woman in green who were apologizing profusely to Madam Masque for not guaranteeing her safety.
Clint	When Kitty had relayed the news that Derek was missing, along with the tape and Madame Masque, there had been some sound swearing on Clint's part. He needed that tape and, well, Kitty and Stiles would probably be upset if anything happened to Derek. There was room enough on the back of Hill's hovercraft for both of them, and thankfully she'd brought a little something along for Clint. "Check the windows," he told Kitty, snapping his bow into place. "I don't think Madame Masque's going to leave just yet."
Kitty	Kitty had some mixed feelings on SHIELD, depending on why she was dealing with them, but wow they had some fun toys. Hovercraft, come on. "Pretty sure I've spotted her," Kitty said, keeping an eye out. "Looks like she's got Derek and some charming friends."
Derek	Derek turned his head to catch where the familiar voices were coming from. Once spotted, he sighed and elbowed the man 'holding' him in place in the face with enough force to make him drop like a sack of potatoes. "My ride's here," he said, only raising his voice enough to be heard over the arguing trio behind him.
Clint	It was a good thing Derek spotted them, because it meant he'd have a chance to take cover. Getting his footing, Clint drew back on his bow and fired an arrow at the window separating them from the bad guy party. Clint's muttered "Boom" was quiet. The arrow latching onto the glass, exploding, and shattering the window was not.
Derek	Derek ducked, avoiding the nearest lunging guard as he headed toward the broken window. There was more than a little shouting behind him and no doubt guns being drawn. So, he moved quickly, not wanting to ruin his jacket on this stupid stand off.
Clint	Clint jumped off the hovercraft first, intending to turn around and help catch Kitty when she came behind him. Then he landed and realized the floor was covered in shattered glass, and he'd lost his shoe. No, really, sending him on solo missions was the worst idea ever. "You good?" he shouted to Derek, following behind him as fast as he could with the blood trail and all. Looking back, he'd insist he was a little too occupied to realize they were being followed.
Kitty	Eh, Kitty was fine to jump and she still had both her shoes. And don't mind her if she caught up with Clint to slide an arm around him to help so he wouldn't have to keep stepping on that foot and bleeding all over. As much.
Derek	"Move," Derek snapped, kindly taking point to keep people out of their way. Because he was a giver like that. Also, it was what he was good for.
Clint	Clint didn't like leaning on Kitty, but he did it anyway, following Derek closely until he heard a shriek. "YOU!!" "Aww crap," Clint said, glancing back just long enough to see the gold of Madame Masque's mask. Then he saw what she was carrying, looked to see how far they were from the elevator, and willed everyone to move faster. Madame Masque shrieked again, aiming her gun for Derek and Kitty. "You two and I have a date with a pack of Gitanes!" Clint was already pushing Kitty and Derek ahead of him as they got to the elevator, so when Madame Masque fired, it didn't take much to make sure he was in the way.
Kitty	The instinct to phase kicked in the second she heard the shot, and Kitty turned a second later to see that Clint had been hit. Her second instinct was to go back to drag Clint, pulling him by the arms into the elevator. The doors closed just in time to see Madame Masque's face, and a second after they started moving another shot could be heard. And that was when Kitty could freak out, looking for blood and where he'd been hit. "Clint?"
Clint	Clint slumped back against the elevator wall and pulled his shirt open enough to reveal the bulletproof vest he was wearing, with a nice wide spot on his chest where the bullet had hit. "Three piece suit, sweetie. Real expensive," he said, wincing.
Derek	Oh, so Barton wasn't dead. How nice for him. Derek frowned, crouching down near Barton as he wrapped a hand around the man's neck. He inhaled, eyes going blue and black veins trailing up his hand as he took the pain. "Stay conscious. We're not out of here yet."
Clint	Clint's eyes widened at the way Derek's eyes changed, but then he felt some of the pain in his chest fade and instinctively relaxed. "What are you...?"
Derek	"I'm not carrying you out of here," Derek snapped. The black veins on his hand darkened to sap as much as he could before he pulled away again.
Clint	Clint took a deep breath and realized he could actually take a deep breath in addition to moving. "Uh, thanks," he said, sitting up more. "Our ride's downstairs. I--thanks." This was going to be awkward for a while.
Kitty	See, this was why it was good to have Derek along! Forget that Kitty hadn't known he could do that! "Thanks," she echoed, giving Derek a little grateful smile. And then, "Dammit, if our ride's downstairs it's probably not a hovercraft." What, she was breaking the tension.