on mun's renewed inspiration

[verybritish]

Must I be subject to your nostalgic whims? We had our time together. We agreed we were done. I was happily retired from your roster.

You can't expect anyone else to indulge you in this. You said yourself, you've traded up to the latest model of "Whedon ice queen". Why bother calling in a General when you have the Cavalry?

[To be absolutely fair, it's the direction Agents of SHIELD is taking that's brought this on: the damaged genius and the memories rewritten.]

I'm the patron saint of loneliness. I make you uncomfortable. You don't miss me.

Comments

[wolfintheherd]

Patron saint of loneliness?

[ward will throw his hat into the ring for that title. He crosses his arms over the chest.]

You have a lot of competition in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[verybritish]

[Hello, Ward. Adelle won't pass on the message, but busdriver-mun sends their regards.]

Yes, I'm sure you're right.

Fortunately, being the patron saint doesn't mean that I'm the loneliest. It means that I know what to do with the lonely. They find me in their hour of need.

[She smiles, thin and polite and convincing to the untrained eye; perhaps not to him.]

Is "Puppetmaster" taken? It doesn't sound as elegant, but it fits.

[wolfintheherd]

[Oh he likes her. And he can see right through her.] taskmaster, punmaster, not sure about puppet master. Sounds a bit more like Detective Comics.

Is that an occupation you're looking for? A title you'd like to claim?

[verybritish]

Not quite. I'm looking to translate the title of the occupation I previously held. Dollhouse Director, or Head of House, doesn't mean anything to the uninitiated.

[He's obviously a piece of work. She hasn't decided whether that's good or bad.]

My patience for questions is limited, Agent Ward. If I answer yours, it will be on the understanding that you'll answer mine. Agreed?

[wolfintheherd]

[As long as you don't mind if it's not the truth.]

...Go on. I'm intrigued.

[geese]

I'm sure two of those things are true. [ cheers ]

[verybritish]

[They should be attending the worst imterdimensional AA meeting together, emphasis on should. Instead, cheers.]

I won't insult anyone's intelligence by asking which two.

Retirement was lovely. [Not being written about was paradise; a bar on the beach.] Ever had the pleasure?

[geese]

[ who can blame them? it's only eleven steps to the minibar ]

Just a little slack in my leash whenever some golden boy gets her attention. She's always back to yank on it before long.

[ he's sure his vacation would just be another philosophical nightmare so any jealousy is, like his tributes, short-lived ] Beats being home.

[verybritish]

Ah, the fleeting allure of novelty. [And possibly youth, depending how literal "golden boy" is.]

I suspect you're a man who knows how to use every bit of slack to his advantage.

[She's all poise, welcoming smiles and flattery but ultimately, inevitably, aloof. If they run out of light conversation, they can discuss their negligence. It's easy to fail the charges who rely so much on them.]

Where's home?

*throws at from across the apartment*

[prefersmanreaction]

If you're the patron saint of loneliness. What the hell am I?

[ Wait. Before you reply he's just holding his single finger up.]

Right. Boy god of Nero. Never mind. Answered it myself.

welp, can't argue with results.

[verybritish]

[She does hate his stalling, silencing, wait-a-minute gestures that make it seem as though the world starts and stops with him, but then... It does, doesn't it? It starts and stops with the two of them, by his design and on her schedule.]

Man-God of Neuro. Time does tick by.

[prefersmanreaction]

Ooooh. An upgrade. Not sure how I feel about that actually.

[ Hey, he's trying to keep it all light hearted considering the last time they were out together they were forced to be working for one of the biggest jerks on the earth when their little attempt to overthrow them failed.

Wait. Do they they work for Hydra now?]

[verybritish]

You're still a child in the way that makes people think they ought to tolerate your eccentricities, and forgive your sins. How do you feel about it now?

[He might be trying to keep it light-hearted. She clearly isn't.

HYDRA's an interesting AU prospect for them, although it's difficult to imagine she'd ever take orders from a man who looks as much like Laurence Dominic as Whitehall.]

[prefersmanreaction]

And here I thought you liked the mini trampoline and the tiny fridge I got. I feel so lied too.

[ Also, ouch. Ice-queen burn.

On the plus side, he seems less likely to spy on the Dollhoue as Whitehall. Downside. He might cut them up. Sooooooo.]

WOW GOSH HELLO HI

[mr_dominic]

You make everyone uncomfortable, ma'am. [Says the fellow with the SHIELD villain face.] That doesn't mean no one would miss you.

Besides, what's wrong with a little nostalgia?

oh my god! you astonish me. what a long time it's been.

[verybritish]

I feel absolutely certain that you intended two compliments there, not one compliment and one insult.

What's wrong is that all this is for its own sake. No plans going forward. [She's not used to that.

His lookalike was terrible to Sierra's. She won't bring it up if he doesn't. They have a prayer of a chance at a pleasant reunion.]

blame ward-mun for my seeing this and falling all over it

[mr_dominic]

Maybe I'm getting soft in retirement. [There's one of his blank smiles, the one he uses when he's outwardly hiding a smirk. Certainly, retirement is one thing. The city, too, changed a lot in him while he'd been there. But that was some time ago. Moved on. Tried to. But here they are in the end.] I trust the same hasn't gone for you.

On the other hand, no contingency plans for coming out? Maybe you just need some tea with those agents. Could be you'd find a place among them. Not out in the field, of course.

blame, credit. credit, blame. :D

[verybritish]

You'd find a place among them, Mr Dominic, with a great deal more ease. A spy among spies. I doubt whether I'd be a good fit for a discredited intelligence agency. [So she says, but they can't pretend she's never how high-ed to someone's orders to jump.] My place is in the private sector, or what continues to pass for it.

[Buying expensive shoes while she can, even though the other side of her has seen and lived through what's to come.]

Besides, I still seem to be making offers.

I was just about to ask how you've been. Now I wonder whether retired isn't a sufficient answer. [Retired is more of an answer than she likely deserves, considering it's a personal question.]

[mr_dominic]

For every Agent May, there's a Nicholas Fury, and while I'm not about to compare the House to a global threat assessment organization, you did have to run a house full of potential crazies and ninjas, balancing science gone wrong with an urge to do some good. So I doubt a discredited intelligence agency is worse than a discredited morally bankrupt company that initiates the apocalypse.

[As for a spy among spies, the real kicker is who would rather have him on their side, Shield or Hydra? Given his history, he could always pull a Bobbi Morse. And Shield does have a habit of taking in misfit toys. Hell, Topher could be their shiny new codemonkey, and Echo their new kickass agent with a spotty history.]

So let's just say it's been a while since I've really stretched my legs beyond the extremely infrequent poking my head out to quip at someone. And even then... [It's just been a while.]

You know you can ask whatever you want. So long as we understand that I haven't been under any obligation to give you a reply, or an honest one, in a damn long time, ma'am. [But he'll still call her ma'am. Whether that's reflex, respect, irony, or sarcasm is up to her to deduce.]

have the other one. because hi. hi a lot.

[busdriver]

[It's awfully tempting to lock Dominic into a fistfight, just to be on the safe side. It is a pretty uncanny resemblance.

DeWitt's not being gracious in defeat, so the latest model is piecing two and two together.]

She's jealous, right?

so much hi (so much crossover shenanigan)

[mr_dominic]

[It's the lack of nerdy little 40's glasses, isn't it? That's gotta be the giveaway.]

That implies that you're the replacement to be jealous of. You could always try working together and terrify the entire world.

[busdriver]

[She didn't trip on a corpse on her way over. That helped too.

There's someone at HYDRA with her face, too. One more and they can form a club.]

You think I want to be scary?

[What's scary is that she doesn't try.]

C'mon, NSA.

THIS HAS TO HAPPEN

[wolfintheherd]

[And Ward is just going to stare. And feel a little sick.]

...Who the hell are you?

[mr_dominic]

Not who you clearly think I am.

[wolfintheherd]

[He frowns]

...Of course not. All the same.

Bit of a surprise.