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

[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.

[hackitude]

... No. No way.

I will burn them to the ground before I ever see that happen.

[hostage]

[Jesse glances up at her. He's glad she feels that way, though it'll probably get her into a hell of a lot of trouble someday. He reaches for her hand and laces his fingers through hers.]

Careful with that. Working for Stark... He's in their bed, you know?

[hackitude]

I know that. But-- whatever people think of Tony Stark, he's... not a bad guy, ultimately. Sure he's a rich one-percenter, but he's also like a for-real hero. If I had proof that the government was shady, or if there was mind-control involved, there's no way he'd just sit by and let that happen.

And if I'm wrong, then... I guess that's where my partnership with him ends. But I don't think I am.

[hostage]

You're the pro here. You probably know better than me. It's just... I wouldn't say anything to him 'til I was a hundred percent sure. 'cause he's an awesome guy, yeah, but he knows who's paying him. Ain't nothing makes a guy like that richer than somebody else fighting a war with his toys.

[hackitude]

I know that-- I'm not stupid. I know how this works.

And he's not making weapons anymore, for the record. Most of his tech is focused now on stuff that helps other people-- clean energy, tech that can assist the disabled, stuff like that. He actually got really mad at me when I asked him to help me fix that robot bear I dragged out of the arena.

[Oh yeah, that was a thing. Skye totally came home with a giant robot bear from the Summer Games and it got immediately confiscated by the government. They gave it back to her almost a month later, stripped of anything and everything that made it lethal. So much for having an attack-bear to guard her.]

[hostage]

[Oh, yes, Tony Stark giving up weapons manufacturing so that he can help people. It's like how Jesse Pinkman gave up meth manufacturing to work with children.

Right.]

...You seriously took one of those things home?

[hackitude]

[Skye shrugs.]

Why not? It had software in it. Once I got close enough to touch it, changing its' programming was a piece of cake. I thought it would be cool to have an attack bear.

[hostage]

[That makes him laugh.]

You're so insane. I love it.

[hackitude]

[Skye laughs too.] What? What's so insane about that? Better than a gun. Dude sees a giant metal bear charging at him, that dude is not sticking around. Trust me.

[hostage]

You're right, you're right. I would be so gone.

You probably shouldn't keep that thing in here.

[hackitude]

No worries. It sleeps in the living room. Since Tony wouldn't fix it for me, I bullied him into giving me engineering lessons every Monday night. I probably won't have the know-how to fix it for like another two years at this rate but until then, it makes a great conversation piece.