Forgotten

[pudding]

"I ah.... didn't get one," Bruce replied slowly as he lifted up the massive pair of shorts he had been lugging around instead. "I mean, I had one but it is currently covered in bile. The only other thing I could find were these." He gave the shorts a little wiggle before setting them down in favor of the tank top. "Oh! Thank you!" He smiled slightly as he wiggled into the tank top. He was actually smaller than Clint so it was fairly easy to get the shirt on. Then, deciding the shorts may come in handy for something, he tied the two legs around his waist to make a makeshift belt. "If you're going outside, I think I'd rather wait in here. I'd like to try to remember some more things." Edited April 18, 2014 by pudding

[HomeForFlowers]

As soon as the card dropped onto the ground, Spider's eyes flickered over to it. He curiously watched as Clint picked up and examined the object. Hawkeye, huh? That name was closer to "Spider" than "Clint". It sounded more like a title than an actual name itself. If the archer had more than one name, then maybe the others did too. Who knows? Maybe Spider had another name as well! Spider began to feel the tingling sensation once more as the man with the mechanical arm burst into the hallway. He looked upset to say at the least. It was obvious that the man in the red suit was going to be a problem. At least, for the moment he was.

"My guess is that there is probably more people here," Spider said, directing his statement towards Bruce. "If you're planning to stay, then maybe you can search around for a bit and try to see what else is here. Maybe walking around can even jog your memory." Turning his attention back to the rough man, Spider nodded. "I did see some smoke when I was outside before," he offered. "We could check around there and see the smoke trail leads to anything."

[shadow_claw]

Hey, welcome to th' club. I had t' ditch my old shirt after throwin' up on it too. Clint said warmly. Even as he spoke, his eyes remained on the card. It even said stuff like his weight and height. He read over it a few times in awe. Clinton Francis Barton. Hawkeye. Authorized full clearance. Man, that was so cool! But, who were the Avengers? The name seemed familiar but not familiar enough. When the metal-armed man returned, he pocketed the card in favor of examining it later. Let's go then. I really wanna try out this bow of mine. I mean, jus' look at it! It's frickin' awesome!

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Not that it was important, but now that these people all had names, it made him wonder what his own was. He hoped it wasn't something stupid like Bob or George. He was actually pretty curious about it now, but he just didn't have time to ask. There were more important things to discuss and do, finding food being the priority. "Suit it yourself," he muttered with a shrug when the quiet man said he wanted to stay behind. Turning his attention on spider, he added, "Smoke could be good or bad, but we don't have a choice other than to investigate it. There might be people, and there's a slim chance they'll be friendly, though I doubt it. You said you found a forest, that'll be a good place to hunt." He gestured a hand to Clint. "You and I can work on that."

[HomeForFlowers]

"Find out if the smoke means we got some buddies or someone is trying to murder us, got it!" Spider chimed as cyborg, as he was calling the man with a mechanical arm, gave him an order. Spider was pretty sure he remembered where he last saw the smoke. After about twenty-five minutes of walking, he saw the smoke rising up in the distance. He started to head towards it but five minutes later he found Clint.

If I remember correctly, the smoke was trailing off towards the north. The door I came out of was directly parallel from it and I found Clint to my right. If I'm figuring this out right then that means...

"I saw the smoke rising towards the east." Spider said with a confirming nod. "I guess I'll be heading out that way. I'd, uh, stray away from the north. I'm pretty sure the person who tried to shoot me was off in that direction." This was good! They had a plan and knew what they were going to be doing. Bruce was going to stay and look and see if there was anything for him to investigate or remember, Clint and the cyborg were going to go hunting for food, and Spider was going to investigate the smoke trail he saw earlier.

It looks like we're doing just great! We have a plan and are all working together, well, at least most of us are. It doesn't look like anything can go wrong from here.

[pudding]

"I'll just... stay here," Bruce confirmed with a nod. They had a semi-group but he was very reluctant to venture out into the world without a weapon of some kind or without his memory. He wanted to see if there was something he could find out first before leaving. Moreover, they had all woken up here. Even if it was filthy, people had to have maintained it at some point. Right? There was bound to be food somewhere, even if the thought of food at the moment just made him want to puke even more. "Maybe lie down. I'm not feeling good." He crossed his arms over his stomach and looked away. "What ever happened to the man you were chasing?" He asked after a moment, turning to the man with the robot arm. He probably should take note if other people were inside the building they were in.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

He gave Spider a nod, pleased that at least someone was in the right mindset as him. Now maybe things could work smoothly. Turning his attention on the other man, he shrugged. "The guy was crazy. Kept talking to things that weren't there. Said his name was chimichanga. So, when he ran, I let him. We don't need people like him getting us killed because he blows our cover or pisses someone off," he answered rather blatantly, a hand resting on his pistol out of what must be habit. He couldn't remember if he used to do that or not.

[shadow_claw]

Clint looked from Bruce to the metal-armed man and frowned. If there was a psycho ob the loose, was it a good idea to keep Bruce in the same room with him? This thought bothered Clint. Am I th' only one bothered with leavin' Bruce with a madman on th' loose? At th' very least, you should take a weapon er two he stated. It seemed like a bad idea to leave an unarmed man with a guy who called himself Chimichanga. Chimichanga of all things. It just screamed "crazy and dangerous". Clint took the blade from his suit-sheathe and all, and offered it to Bruce. If ya don' wanna come with us, at least take somethin' t' protect yerself. he decided. With a nod to the only unnamed man, he smiled. I'm ready t' get movin' when you are.

[HomeForFlowers]

"I'll head off to the north then," Spider said with an acknowledging nod to his three companions. "See ya!" With that said, Spider headed off towards his room, entered the chamber, and went through the door leading towards the outside world. Being outside for the second time only confirmed Spider's fears of this place being dangerous. The city seemed shattered, a husk of its former self. The air felt hot but the occasional breeze promised a colder climate. The outside world was much warmer than the bunkers which held no movement besides the cold draft that managed its way through it. The smoke trail Spider had seen prior to finding Clint was still hanging in the air. It was hard to make it through the gray tinted buildings and their ruined structure, but Spider could see the wisps of a fire's birth hanging in the air. Knowing that was where he had to go, Spider began to make his way towards the smoke and, hopefully, some friendly faces.

[pudding]

Bruce seemed to panic slightly at the mention of taking a weapon and quickly backed away from the extended knife. He wasn't sure he could use one and even manage to hurt someone else instead of himself. Maybe it was a better idea to stay in the group. He didn't want to be alone if a madman was on the loose. And Spider was already gone. Rather flustered, he quickly shook his head and waved his hands. "No, no. I actually think it would be better if I just went with you." He frowned slightly as he looked between the two of them. "Would it be alright if I tagged along? I don't want to stay here alone."

 

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Oh, goody. This man would be no help at all if he was afraid of simply holding a knife. However, there was strength in numbers, so there was a small advantage in having Bruce with them. It wasn't that he was being deliberately cruel, he was just trying to think tactically. "Yeah, you can come with us. You know anything about surviving?" He asked, glancing around surreptitiously in case the lunatic was hanging around. Damn it, now he was back to thinking about what his name might be. Whenever he thought of himself as a soldier, it started to feel really familiar.. Maybe that was his name. "And uh, I guess for now you can call me Soldier. It.. Sounds right."

[shadow_claw]

Well, if this is all settled, let's get movin' Clint decided. He returned the knife back to its original location, took his bow and his left hand, and started towards the door. As Soldier spoke his supposed name, Clint paused and turned around. I found some sorta ID card with m' name n' stuff on it. Maybe you got one too. he suggested. It would make everything easier if they all had ID cards giving hints about their identities. It would surely answer a lot of questions.

[pudding]

"I don't know anything about me, let alone surviving," Bruce replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. It really did not make him comfortable to be anywhere near such dangerous things. It wasn't that he was worried about other people getting hurt, it was more he was worried about him getting hurt. At Clint's suggestion, he paused to check the monstrous shorts he was still toting around but hadn't thought to check the pockets. He dug inside the first, found nothing, then moved on to the second. His hands scraped against rough fabric and, with a frown, he pulled out a small wallet and a pair of glasses. "I found something," He muttered as he tucked the glasses into his shirt and flipped open the wallet. There wasn't much inside aside from some kind of ID. He pulled the ID out and squinted at the letters before holding it a distance away from his face so he could read it. "It says... Bruce Banner," he muttered. "I think it's a driver's license." Well, duh. It did say driver's license on it. What else would it be? He squinted at the image of himself on the card and tilted his head to the side. Who was that man supposed to be?

Edited April 26, 2014 by pudding

[HomeForFlowers]

(Excuse any typos, this took forever to do.)

 

"Oh come on, is this really necessary?"

"Shut up!"

"Are going to avoid all my questions or are you just-"

"I said, shut it!"

The woman in the leather slacks pressed a knife against Spider's throat, the steel brushing against the latex suit. Spider closed his mouth and spoke no more. The lady glared at him with those pale gray eyes of hers for another moment or two before slowly removing the knife from his neck all the while being careful not to slit his throat open.

How considerate of her.

Spider let out a grunt as he struggled against the rope binding his body together. The coarse material only squeezed him tighter as he wiggled, knocking the breath out of him. With a dissatisfied snort, Spider ceased his struggle and stared in annoyance at the people tending to the nearby camp fire. He could him them whispering now, debating if they should kill him or take him back to "headquarters", where ever that was. Hearing them argue over his fate only made Spider all the more depressed. The others would probably laugh at him if they saw the pitiful state he was in. He had been captured by a lousy bunch of scavengers with blunt knifes and guns rusty with age. How pathetic was that? Spider glowered at his captors as he silently scolded himself.

How the hell did I even get into this situation?

 

 

...

 

 

This had to be it, it just had to be. Spider was standing in the outskirts of central part of the city. From his vantage point, he could see a small encampment about a mile or so away. Thick smoke rose up from the center of the camp, rising up into the gray sky. Spider could identify movement within the camp. Small figures who's identity was hidden within rolls of clothing walked throughout the camp. Their number wasn't great. There was about ten of them at most. None of them seemed to be on watch or scouting the area around the camp. This meant at least three things in Spider's mind. For one, there actually could be people out scouting and Spider just didn't see them. Of course, he expected to run into them as he walked towards the camp, but that effort was to no avail. Secondly, they could have no fear of being attacked. Maybe Spider was inside of these people's territory where they already took care of any potential danger. Lastly, there was also the chance that these people were just too incompetent to bother scouting and were just lazing around with no care in the world. Either way, Spider knew he had to get closer.

 

Just as he was about to turn around his skull began to tingle with alarm and an arm went around his neck and pulled him backward. Startled, Spider began to spin around when a knife appeared and suddenly pressed itself to his neck.

"If you want to live, you'll do everything I tell you," chided a young woman's voice.

"Hey, calm down lady," Spider said quickly. "All I wanted to do is-"

"I don't give a damn what you intended to do," the woman spat bitterly. "Do what I say or I will slice your neck open." Spider flinched away from the drips of spit that slapped his face as the woman spoke. He didn't particular care of his mask to get wet nor did he fancy the feel of the blunt knife pressing against his neck, threatening to cut deep into his flesh. Spider knew he couldn't give up to this woman, but what choice did he have? He the knife Clint gave him, but what could he do now that the stranger had caught him? With a grunt, Spider relinquished his stance and let the woman grab him by the wrists and shove him towards the camp.

 

 

...

 

 

Damn this rope! If only I had a means to-

Spider's thoughts were cut off by the relaxation of pressure against his wrists. Blinking in confusion, Spider wiggled his hands around and found that, in fact, the rope had slipped off his wrists.

Did they seriously not tie the rope together tightly? I know this is a pretty crappy camp they got here, but I didn't know they were this incompetent.

Seeing as his hands were free, Spider began to contemplate what he could to escape. While his hands were free, his arms were not. They were still bonded to his torso, making it hard to move them around. That would make things more difficult. He couldn't just get up and run, they'd catch him for sure and make the rope around his wrists especially tight. He could try to inch himself towards, the knife stabbed onto a nearby crate. If he got caught, it be the end of his escape, but what other choice did he have?

 

Slowly, Spider began to inch his way towards the knife, making sure he didn't bring any attention to himself when he moved. For a while, he thought he was doing good, but soon, he realized he hadn't even moved a foot and his captors were already giving him suspicious looks. Spider silently fumed and pressed his fingers against his palm.

Great, I'm getting nowhere with this. I might as well-

Suddenly, Spider felt his finger press something underneath his suit, the wrist contraption perhaps. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched white web of some sort shoot out from his hand and grip the knife stuck in the crate. He was so baffled by the scene that he didn't even react at first. His captors, who had seen the entire thing, were mesmerized as well. Unfortunately, they recovered more quickly than Spider than. One of them leaped up from the campfire and charged towards him. With the tingling sensation screaming in his head now, Spider yanked the knife towards him and grabbed it with one hand. He sliced open the ropes with ease and jumped upward. Just as the man came towards him, Spider felt a rush of instinct. His leg came upward and kicked the man square in the stomach. The man doubled over, vomiting up saliva. The others, seeing their friend in pain jumped up in a rage and charged towards their captive.

 

Spider was beginning to feel a rush of adrenaline. His head was throbbing from the tingling sensation as it progressively grew and his mind was completely taken over by instinct. Flipping backwards onto the crate, Spider landed on all fours and, gripping the the side of the crate with one hand, shot webs at the feet of his captors. All but two of them fell over, yowling with confusion and head planting into the dirt. One of the people who didn't fall was a man. He took one look at Spider, dropped his weapon and ran.

"Coward!" the woman who had captured Spider in the first place yelled as the man ran away. She turned her hateful gaze to Spider who was positioned much like a gargoyle at a church would be. He tiled his head at the woman and beckoned her forward with a nod of his head. Enraged, the woman rushed forward with her knife slashing through the air. It was practically child's play. Spider leaped over the woman's head as she came close and, as he landed, kicked his leg against hers. She fell over, banging her head on the crate. Just before she could turn around, Spider shot a web at her legs, binding them together. She let out a shout as she her legs became immobile. She fell to her side and raised her hand to slash at Spider. He easily knocked the weapon out of her hand. Leaning forward, he grabbed her wrists, shot a web onto them, making them stick, and then faced the defenseless woman.

 

"You could of just said 'hello',"" Spider said with a grin on his face. The woman gave him a death glare and icy silence. The hate in her eyes grew all the more as she stared at Spider.

"You know where you keep your food?" Spider asked in that aloof voice of his. For a moment, it seemed as though the woman was going to resist, but, as her eyes glanced at her friends with their faces in the dirt, she quickly pointed over to an open crate. Spider marched over to the crate and found a load of canned food inside of it. Grabbing several cans in his arms, Spider backed away from crate and glanced back over at the woman.

"What are you going to do?" the lady hissed. "Kill us?"

"Ew, what?" Spider asked, so startled that he almost dropped a can. "Why would I do that? I just needed some food. I was going to ask you if you could spare a can or not but you kinda put a knife to my throat and told me to shut up." The woman stared at Spider in bewilderment as though she could hardly believe what he was saying.

"You're....you're not going to kill us?" she asked, a lighter tone coming to her voice.

"No!" Spider exclaimed with a hint of hurt in his voice. "Why on earth would I do that?" The woman opened her mouth as though an explanation would come out of it, but she soon closed it and looked away.

"Well," Spider said as he shifted his weight onto his other foot. "I know I wouldn't. Cyborg might, he was pretty scary, but who knows? I might just be judging him by his looks." Spider began to walk forward, realized something, and then pivoted on his foot.

"You wouldn't happen to know where to get some food, would you?" he asked.

"Now why would you-" the woman cut herself off as she realized that Spider did not take all of her food.

"To the south of the city is a shopping district that use to be a big part of a group's territory," the woman explained. "Some mutated animals killed them all and now make residence there. No one has the guts, or equipment, to take them on. If you have more people like you, I'm sure you can get rid of those abominations. Once they're gone, I'm sure you'll find whatever that group left behind."

"Risk my life and that of my peers to get some canned peaches, great idea!" Spider chimed as he began to walk towards the entrance of the cave. "See ya!"

"Wait!" the woman called, leaning forward. "W-Who are you?" Spider stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder to see the woman straining forward, her eyes full of confusion.

"Name's Spider," the man said with a grin. "Remember it, will ya?" With that said, he turned his back and began the long trek home.

 

(Just in case you didn't know, all characters still have muscle memory. Clint will still know how to shoot arrows and Doctor Stranger will still be able to use magic. Just a heads up if it wasn't already clear.)

Edited April 26, 2014 by Doctortear

[shadow_claw]

How much further 's th' woods? Clint asked. He swung his arms back and forth as the group of three walked along. They had only just left the facility, and already was he feeling impatient. His strength had recovered a good bit since he had woken up, and now all Clint wanted to do was explore. Though...the entire city reeked of danger. He subconsciously kept glancing behind his shoulder in fear of being followed. But for whatever reason, he felt used to this sort of environment. Like he had been exposed to shady places for a long period of his life. Whatever it was, it made him feel a bit antsy.

[pudding]

Bruce was probably the furthest from his comfort zone that it was possible to be in. Having decided early on Clint was the friendliest of the bunch, he stuck close to him and nervously slunk along like a mouse. Everything could pose a threat to them and while Soldier seemed to be good on his own and Clint had weapons, he was just a normal guy with a lot of fears. "I don't know," He replied, glancing over his shoulder at the facility. It was now a good distance away and getting further and further away. He got the impression that this really hadn't been a good idea. Was it too late to just go back, crawl into the pod and fall asleep again? This felt overly dangerous.

[Kiran]

On the edge of her consciousness, a woman heard a voice. It wasn’t in the least bit like a human voice; rather, it was cool and robotic, devoid of any emotion. Only half awake, the woman couldn’t make out what the voice said, and didn’t much care to. She could tell that the voice had spoken in English, but why would that matter? Far more pressing was the horrible feeling of soreness she felt.

 

Vivid green eyes snapped open, or at least they would have if they weren’t crusted with gunk. Instead, her eyelids just pulled against each other and failed to open properly. She attempted to reach up to them to rub the gunk away, but stopped. The attempt caused her muscles to burn horribly, like they had been heavily exercised the day before. It wasn’t just her arms that hurt- far from it. All of her muscles felt similarly sore, although they weren’t as bad because she hadn’t tried to move them. Her mouth was dry, her lips were chapped, and her head pounded. In particular, she felt very nauseated.

 

Too late to do much about it, the woman felt bile rising in her throat. Ignoring the soreness of her arms, she pushed herself into a sitting position so that she at least wouldn’t choke. The bile had now reached her mouth, but the woman was determined not to vomit all over herself. She managed to crack her eyes open the tiniest fracture, and saw a ledge of some sort. Reaching towards it, she leaned over the edge. Vomit splashed against the floor, and the woman was rather glad that she was covered in it.

 

Weakly, she collapsed back into the cushions, shaking. She couldn’t just lie there, though. For one thing, she needed water to wash the taste out of her mouth, and for another she felt as if she’d be very hungry if she wasn’t so disgusted. In any case, she needed to find out where she was. Captured, maybe?

 

By who? Well, she didn’t know. Actually, the woman found that she didn’t really know anything, not even her own name. Wiping the crust out of her eyes so that she could see properly, she sat up again. First things first, after all. The soreness of her muscles seemed to be fading, but not at nearly a fast enough rate. How long had she been asleep for? Awhile, not very long? Why had she been woken up? Why couldn’t she remember anything? Wishing that she could just keep resting, she grabbed the edge of the pod again and lifted one leg over the edge. Unable to keep her balance and still too weak, she tumbled over the edge and fell. Pain radiated from her knees, but at least she had managed to avoid breaking her wrists. Unfortunately, she had also fallen into the puddle of vomit. It coated her hands and forearms, and didn't exactly smell nice. She gagged a few times, making an effort not to throw up again.

 

Eyes watering, she pushed herself away from the puddle and towards a nearby wall. She didn’t quite trust herself to stand, but she could see a door off to the side. There was also a staircase and a table, but she couldn’t see if there was anything on the table from her position. The door could lead to anything, but there wasn’t much to do besides open it to find out. She leaned against the wall, leaving smears of vomit on it, and shakily stood up. Taking small steps, she eventually reached the door. Turning the knob, she found that the room was indeed a bathroom. At first the water from the sink spluttered, and she was worried that it wouldn’t work, but the water soon came out as a clear stream. She washed her hands, arms, and face with the water, and once they were clean she filled her hands with water and drank.

 

The relief was wonderful, but now that her mouth no longer tasted like bile she was starving. She didn’t remember seeing any food before. Maybe there had been some on the table? Unlikely, but possible. As she was about to turn to leave, she noticed a mirror. Funny that she hadn’t seen it before. A rather pretty face with green eyes and red hair looked back at her. Her hair was a bit dirty, but that didn’t really matter. More importantly, there were hinges on the edge of the mirror. She didn’t expect to find anything behind it, but to her surprise found small bandages, a few antibiotics, and some salve. Not amazing stuff, but it could be useful.

 

Feeling able to stand without support now, the woman headed back to the main room. To her disappointment, there wasn’t any food on the table. Instead, there was a black outfit. Interestingly enough, included with the outfit was a pair of pistols. Why? If she had been captured, why give her weapons? She put on the outfit and strapped the pistols to her legs. For whatever reason she had the weapons, she was certainly going to use them.

 

Frowning, she looked around the room. There was vegetation growing around the edges of the room. None of it seemed to be edible (of course), but how had it gotten there? Come to think of it, the room did look pretty old. Still, how could that be possible? The lightbulb would need changing, wouldn’t it?

 

Feeling uneasy, the woman stepped up the stairs. She still felt horribly weak and sore, but the water had been helpful and she could at least walk. She opened the door and squinted. It wasn’t that bright out, but it was brighter than her room had been. Around her was a city that looked to be in pretty bad shape. This probably wouldn’t be fun.

[HomeForFlowers]

Spider was, least to say, excited. He felt strong after what he did at that scavenger camp. His inherit skills bursted forth out of nowhere and proved to be useful. It seemed as though Spider was useful after all! He didn't need anyone's help. In fact, everyone probably needed his help! After what he did, Spider was beginning to think he was useful, perhaps more than useful. What was the full potential of his abilities? How far did they go? Did he have more powers? Did his peers have any powers? Either way, after what he did at the camp, Spider felt like, to say bluntly, a badass.

Oh man, to think I was doubting myself earlier. I don't need Clint's knife! I'm-

Spider stopped in his tracks, the cans banging together in his arms. He had forgotten to bring back Clint's knife. He was so full of himself that he forgot to bring back the knife the archer had handed him out of pity. How could he be so stupid?

Ah great, that woman must of taken it. I was too busy worrying about getting some food, I completely forgot the knife. I...I guess I better go back and retrieve it. It's the least I can do, right?

With that thought, Spider turned on his heel and marched back towards the direction for the camp. At least, he thought it was the direction in which the camp was. The way he was walking was looking quite different from what he remembered. He didn't recognize any of the buildings as the one he walked by when he was heading towards the smoke drifting in the air. Thinking he took a wrong turn, Spider began to walk in another direction only to found it was just as alien to him as the first route. Feeling a slight sense of panic, Spider went another way... and another. Each and every time, he found the route eerie and unfriendly with no recollection of it in his mind. Stopping in the middle of the street, Spider glanced up at the buildings towering above him, looming over him.

I think I'm lost...

"Well ," Spider sighed as he realized he had no idea where he was.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Soldier kept a steady pace, using his bionic arm to rip and tear and at plants that got in their way. It was better than trying to cut with one of his throwing knives, anyway. The other two kept complaining and acting skittish, and while he could understand why they would be afraid, it was starting to annoy him. Nothing bad had happened yet, and as long as they stuck together and kept quiet, nothing bad would happen. "Quit whining," he muttered at Clint, kneeling in the dirt to examine a faint imprint in the soil. Judging by the depth and size, it should've belonged to Spider, and every now and then he kept finding them among the low-lying plants. These skills that he kept discovering were extremely helpful; he doubted the group would get far without him. And yet, despite the fact that he needed no one, he felt no temptation to strike out on his own. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to stay among people. It was easy to just do whatever needed doing for the group, but at the same time it was frustrating- thoughts that he definitely didn't want to linger on. "Spider's been here, I'd say about an hour ago. We can't be far off. Come on," he said over his shoulder, gripping his rifle in both hands as he started off again.

[Kiran]

Out of the corner of her eye, the woman saw movement. Flicking her eyes towards it, she saw... what? The body shape indicated that it was a man, but he was wearing a rather strange outfit. It was blue and red, and was covered with a design like spiderwebs. The man was looking away and upwards, so she couldn't see his face, but he could have turned around at any second.

 

The next moment, the woman found herself standing behind a crumbled building, with only the slightest crunch of gravel to announce her movement. A pistol appeared in her hands. The sudden rush of movement caused stars to pop in front of her eyes, and she brought a hand up to her forehead. When the stars cleared, she blinked at the gun in her hand. That had been unexpected. She hadn't really made a conscious decision to move, which was interesting. Maybe she really did know how to fire a gun.

 

Now what? A stealthy peak around the corner of the building revealed that the man was standing far enough away to have not heard her movements. Well, that was good, at least. He was also carrying a small stack of cans in his arms, which interested the woman more. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, but how could she possibly get it?

 

She had weapons, and the man didn't appear to. That was good. Still, if it came down to a fight she still wasn't sure if she could win. The man could have any sort of skills, and what if she was wrong and couldn't shoot a gun accurately? It could also be that his suit was bulletproof, although it didn't look thick enough. If she couldn't incapacitate him with the first shot, things could end very badly. She also still felt a little wobbly, while the man seemed to be fine.

 

Okay, no fighting, then. In any case, it would be best not to hurt anyone. That left two options: get away while she had the chance, or ask politely for some food or a place to find food. Something about the ruined city told her that no one was going to be giving away food any time soon, however. People weren't very generous at the best of times (at least, she thought they hadn't been. She wasn't really sure of anything, now), and with the city as it was? No way. Leaving without letting the man see her might have been the option she chose, if she wasn't so hungry. It wasn't like she couldn't bear the hunger- she felt like she could, if she really had to- it was that she knew that she needed to find food sometime, or risk starvation. Starvation wasn't something she planned on. So, asking politely and then threats if he didn't give her some food? Possibly the best option. After all, the man wouldn't know that she could barely stand.

 

Cautiously, she put her gun back into its holster and stepped out into the open, palms facing up in a nonthreatening gesture. Raising her voice slightly so that she could be heard over the distance, she said, "Hello," in English. She didn't know what language(s) the man spoke, but the robotic voice that woke her up had spoken English, so it seemed to be a good start. From what she could tell, the woman knew quite a few languages.

[HomeForFlowers]

The tingling feeling at the base of Spider's skull came once more and he knew from prior experiences that someone was coming. Oddly enough, the sensation was not as strong as it was with the cyborg, the other suited man, and the woman who had taken Clint's knife. It was more of a soft hum, warning him to be wary but, at the same time, telling him the the threat was not great. Spider had no idea what this meant, but guessed that it wasn't good. Expecting to see someone, Spider began to glance around for any signs of someone being nearby. Thanks to the fact that the city was practically destroyed and full of rubble, Spider could not locate any other human nearby. Sure, he probably could of located footprints or other evidence pointing towards someone nearby, but Spider wasn't exactly sure how he'd go about doing so.

Looks like tracking isn't one of my inherit skills. Great, just great. No wonder I'm lost.

"Hello,"

As soon as he heard a voice, Spider turned around to see a woman with her hands up staring at him.

"Oh," he said with a blink. He straightened his back and rubbed his free head against the back of his head.

"I thought I sensed someone around here." This woman didn't seem like a threat. She didn't look so hot and seemed even frail. Even Spider could see that. Despite the fact that this woman didn't look fit to fight, Spider was still wary of the holster on her suit.

"You're not going to try and pull a gun on me, are you?" Spider asked as he nodded towards the gun. "I'm not too fond of guns at the moment. Not too long ago a woman pulled a gun, sorta like the one you have there, on me and tied me up." Spider would of grinned if he didn't have a mask on. He didn't mean to threaten this woman, but the gun was worrying him. He didn't think he couldn't beat her. No, after what he saw himself do, Spider knew he was more than just a regular human. It was just... guns weren't fun.

[shadow_claw]

I'm not whining! I'm just... Clint's peotest trailed off when he was rendered unable to come up with a better word. He fell into a silent sulk once Soldier claimed victory in the short bicker. He lagged behind from staring up at the trees, and then, stopped completely. He felt as if the vantage from a tree would make him feel safer. He shimmied up the trunk with surprising speed and perched upon a thick branch. Huh. This was...a lot better. Still wanting to continue following the other two, he tested his balance, and then ran to another branch. A jump, and he landed in a diferent tree. This was way better! The thought that he could see everything around him had made all anxiety melt off. Yeah, Clint decided he was going to follow in the trees.

[Kiran]

"Oh. I thought I sensed someone around here."

What? The woman was a bit confused about the statement. Normally, you'd say 'I thought I heard someone' or 'I thought I saw someone'. Technically sight and hearing were both senses, but you just didn't usually say things like that. It was possible that the man thought he was psychic, or was trying to make the woman think that he was psychic. She didn't ask questions, but filed the information away for later.

"You're not going to try and pull a gun on me, are you? I'm not too fond of guns at the moment. Not too long ago a woman pulled a gun, sorta like the one you have there, on me and tied me up."

 

Ooh, that was also interesting. If you just payed attention to the words, it could have seemed like a threat. However, it didn't sound like the man was threatening her. He did seem to be worried about the gun, though. That was pretty normal. She was also thinking that the man probably wasn't lying about having been tied up and threatened with a gun. She couldn't see his face, so she wasn't quite sure, but just guessing from his voice...

 

"Okay, no guns. See?" she said as she raised her hands a bit farther away from the guns. "I was just wondering if you knew a way to find food." It was probably best to not outright ask for food.

[pudding]

Bruce stopped short when he heard a rustling from behind him. He turned back and quickly noticed the apparent lack of Clint. This came as a very large shock to Bruce, who quickly looked around until the rustling in the tree he had heard caused him to look up and spot the archer above them. Confusion filled his features as he watched him leap rather gracefully from one tree to the next. "What are you doing?" He asked, staring up at the trees. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the part of their group that seemed friendliest in a place he couldn't easily follow. What was he supposed to do, jump through the trees after him? He highly doubted he could do that. He looked towards Soldier then quickly trailed after him. He really didn't want to lag behind or get lost. "I thought we were looking for food," He muttered with a frown. When had their search party turned into a rescue mission? Edited May 1, 2014 by pudding

[HomeForFlowers]

"Oh, you just wanted to know how to find food?" Spider asked, his voice instantly sounding more upbeat. "Yeah, I know where to get food! I got these cans from that woman who tied me up earlier." Spider thought for a moment. The way he was phrasing his sentence made it seem like she gave the cans to him which was not true at all. Spider didn't have a reason to lie to his woman. After all, she seemed willing to cooperate with him. She deserved the truth.

"Well, she didn't really give me the cans, I kinda took them." Spider rephrased. It took him a moment to realize just how malicious he sounded. He didn't need to threaten this woman! She had a gun and guns, to Spider knowledge, were painful and lethal! He didn't like being in pain or dying! Those were his two least favorite things! At least, at the moment they were. Scrambling to find words, Spider blurted out whatever came to his mind first.

"But n-not all of them!" he stuttered, slight panic creeping into his voice. "I only took what my companions and I needed. Speaking of which..." Spider turned around for a moment, glanced around, and huffed out an defeated sigh. There was still no sign of his comrades, if he could even call them that. Clint seemed pretty cool, but he was friendly with everyone he'd met so far. The cyborg only seemed to tolerate the presence of the others and actually seemed annoyed that they were there. Bruce was highly skittish and didn't show much interest in anything but staying at the base. Acquaintances was a better word. None of the three seemed too interested in Spider which wasn't too disappointing. He felt disconnected from the group and even as though he didn't exactly fit in. It was actually quite funny now that he thought about it. This woman wasn't dressed like the scavengers. Her clothes were much more sleek and well taken care of than the scavengers'. Hell, he if knew any better, Spider might of suggested-

Wait, hold on a moment.

"You wouldn't happened to just came out of a pod of some sort, would you?" Spider asked, instantly regretting his words. "Because... you know... your clothing is nice and the woman who tied me up and had torn clothing. The only other people who have clean clothing are my companions who are running around somewhere. So I thought..." Spider let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head again, his finger itched to touch the button that produced web just in case this woman attacked.

"If you aren't in the same situation I'm in you're probably pull out your gun now," Spider half joked as panic seeped into his mind.

I think I just screwed myself over.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Doctortear