ic contact (mask or menace)

[hackitude]

"Hey! You've reached Skye. Leave a message. I mean, if you want to. Or uh, don't. Whatever."

Comments

[hostage]

[He glances at her then glances away, rubbing at his neck.]

I dunno if I want my bosses trying to sleep with me. I mean, I know I'm hot, but...

[hackitude]

[That earns a laugh and a soft arm punch.]

You know that's not what I meant.

[hostage]

I dunno what else you'd see in me.

[It's a joke, but it's also true!!!]

[hackitude]

How about... a guy who just needs to be given a chance?

I mean-- whatever our lives were like in the past... none of that stuff is on record here. You can start fresh.

[hostage]

Come on, you don't really believe that.

I mean, technically. Maybe. We don't know how much they got on us. But some serial killer shows up here, you're not just gonna say, "Hey, maybe he'll be a really nice guy this time around."

And, like, I'm not a serial killer or anything. But I am what I am. Everybody looking at me sees the same asshole they always saw. What does starting fresh even mean?

[hackitude]

Don't lump being a serial killer in with making bad life choices. They're totally different.

Starting fresh just means... a chance to make different choices. That's all.

[hostage]

Okay, well... I'm here with you instead of at some crackhouse with a pipe. Good for me. But am I gonna blame somebody looking at me, thinking, "Okay - addict for ten years, sober for six months. Probably don't want him around my kids."?

[hackitude]

That's not what I'm saying.

[hostage]

So what're you saying?

[hackitude]

It's like... sure... sometimes you're gonna run into those old prejudices. Whatever. You can't do anything about that, and I don't mean you should blame people for it or whatnot. And I know that... some of the stuff that's in our pasts, it... never really leaves us. We carry it around.

But... you don't have to be bound by it, here. That's all.

[hostage]

...I guess I don't really know how not to be.

[hackitude]

You think that, but it's not true. You applied for the job at the school, didn't you? And you got it. That's gotta count for something.

[hostage]

Yeah...

[Too bad he can't talk about what he's really talking about. He gives her a little smile instead and rests his cheek on her shoulder again.]

[hackitude]

[She lets him, and once he's comfortable there, she tilts her head too so she's resting on him a little as well.]

Yeah.

I'm actually kind of jealous, truth be told. I saw the ad go out for that place, it sounds super cool. I mean, I never thought I'd say this, but for the first time in my life I actually wish I was high school aged again. I hated school, but if I went to a place like that, I think it wouldn't be so bad.

[hostage]

Word. I mean, can you imagine growing up with superpowers? And going to a school like that? I used to dream about it. I hadda at least try for the job. I probably woulda been a janitor if that was the only job I could get over there.

[hackitude]

Right? I mean-- I don't want you to think I was a nerd or anything, but I was totally into the whole comic book thing as a kid. I totally wish I could get employed there, but somehow I don't think they're gonna take on Hacking 101 as a subject and that's all I'm really good at, so...

[hostage]

You're working for Iron Man, though! That's totally cool, too! Maybe even cooler. Probably cooler.

[hackitude]

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty cool. He's mostly got me writing algorithms for stuff all day though, like he couldn't write them himself. It's a good job, but... I dunno.

[hostage]

Hold up. You saying you're bored?

[hackitude]

[Let's be real. Almost every job is boring in comparison, after being a SHIELD agent and running high on adrenaline catching bad guys every week.]

Not bored exactly... I mean, maybe a little, but... I don't know. More like... slightly useless? I miss my old job. Not the tech support gig, I mean-- from back home. With SHIELD.

Hell, even before that, when I was a hacktivist... at least I was doing something that made a difference, even if I wasn't getting paid for it.

[hostage]

You can't do it here? The hacktivist stuff, at least?

[hackitude]

That's the thing. I keep trying, but-- nothing. And I mean, I'm not just good-- I'm the best. With the powers I've got here, I can hack into stuff just by thinking about it. And yet I can't crack a single government-related operation.

[hostage]

I guess that's the problem with it being the government that's giving us our powers.

[hackitude]

Ugh. It's so frustrating. There's no way there isn't something shady going on there-- I know there is. I just have to find it. In the meantime, I'm just... stuck in an office. Writing code for a guy who could probably build a robot that does my job for me.

And don't even get me started on this whole "registered hero" business. What have they really had us do? Attend fairs to show off our powers? They're just trying to get us to help them wave their dick to other countries.

[hostage]

We're their bitches. They own us.

[He turns his hand over to look at the tattoo on his wrist.]

They probably got mind control shit in here, too. Someday they'll flip the switch and that's it.