i got infinite ammunition

[barton_me]

Roughly three hours ago, Clint had been skillfully monkeying his way down the side of a building, the grips sewn in the palms of his gloves helping him to twist and turn his way through a fire escape that had, long ago, become nothing more than a tilting mass of rusted metal leaning haphazardly against a wall of brick. Roughly three hours ago, he'd been burning with a purpose, the heady sensation of a job completed but with the bitter caution of knowing he was not yet out of danger. Landing silently on his feet in the alleyway, he had kept to the shadows. Three blocks over he heard sirens, but of course it was too late.

The room he had torched had been filled with hardware containing information on several SHIELD operatives, including their alternate identities. It had already been copied, placed under safe keeping, but the originals had to be wiped clean. When it came to fires, Clint often volunteered; too often when the spark was set by a rookie it spread and harmed civilians. Besides, there was really no place quite like southeast Asia to disappear to for a bit when you wanted to clear your head of things.

At the next building down, at the opposite end of the alley, he had made quick work of the lock. But upon going through he was not in an abandoned service hallway for an insurance firm. Even if there hadn't been windows full of sunlight when he knew it had to be the dead of night, the very air told him that he had experienced something very, very odd.

It took some time to ascertain he had not had a stroke, was not going insane, and really was in what appeared to be a pretty nice hotel, far nicer than the ones he usually stayed in. Dimensional doorways weren't completely out of his grasp, of course, but the ones he knew about required a bit more pomp, circumstance, and energy fields than the single, quiet door he had walked through.

Since a few tries had told him that returning was not an option, he ended up going immediately into what he called 'airport mode' - when waiting for a flight, train, or similar, it was always best to procure three things: book, coffee, and a sandwich. Even if you didn't even want those items. So there he was in the Bistro, a third of the way through a book he had found in the gift shop, wondering how long it was going to take before he could either a) get back home or b) panic. At least his gear was more or less subtle, and he had his compound bow and quiver on the floor and tucked along the side of his leg, mostly out of sight.

Comments

[almightythor]

"It is a pleasant place, at least." Thor did not know if that would be a driving factor for Clint, who had seen his fair share of unpleasant battlefields like all of the Avengers. "It seems calm, for the moment, though I am sure my brother would like to change that."

Luckily for everyone, Loki seemed to be in check for the moment and loss of their mother seemed to have tempered his desire for world domination.

[barton_me]

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what Thor wanted - Clint liked to drive to the heart of the matter, sometimes, though some people didn't always take well to that. But as much as he could be direct, he could also tiptoe around issues with a stealth that could rival Natasha's.

"It doesn't seem half bad," he agreed, casting his gaze around them. "As far as random universal hotels go, it's pretty swank."

[almightythor]

"The accommodations are pleasing," Thor agreed. "The company, usually, even more so. I have no complaints about where my feet have led me for the time being."

He cocked his head toward the front lobby. "You have retrieved a key and secured a place to stay here?"

[barton_me]

Clint thought back to his somewhat confusing (but oddly familiar) episode at the front desk. "Yeah," he said. "I mean, I got a key and was told what room number and the... area I could find it in. But I haven't exactly gone to check yet."

And that was for a number of reasons. Mainly, when you were a spy and given something so easily it tended to be a trap. Also, walking through doors was apparently an ill-advised action these days.

[almightythor]

Thor was a good deal more trustworthy than Clint but he supposed that had to do with his own upbringing and area of expertise. He had never been much for subterfuge and preferred, instead, to attack a situation head-on if at all possible. There was no sense in skulking in the shadows when he could be upfront instead.

"Careful that you know which door you're opening. They seem to change from time to time."

[barton_me]

Clint laughed. "I'll keep that in mind, big guy," he said, fondly. "That's kinda why I'm avoiding really going anywhere unless I can see a clear way in and out. So you're saying the doors will actually move, too?"

Weird, but only slightly weirder than ending up there in the first place.

[almightythor]

"They have," Thor admitted. "I have been caught in a few unpleasant situations because of that but otherwise, it is mostly safe here. Nothing that we couldn't handle, anyway."

Thor was aware there were very few things that he and the others could not handle on a day to day basis but he felt it needed to be said all the same.

[barton_me]

Clint rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, thoughtfully. "Okay," he said. "So the doors here go to different places. What kind of places have you been in? Like is it kind of like here, or is it real sci-fi crazy shit? Because I've had enough of aliens for the time being."

[almightythor]

"Everything is real, even if it seems surreal to you," Thor said. He thought about the places he'd been since arriving here and there was only one that he would warn everyone off.

"There is a place full of children who will scream your name and beg for your attention. Avoid it at all costs. The people wear hats with ears on them."

[barton_me]

Clint raised his eyebrows, and laughed. Screaming children with eared hats? He could make a pretty good guess. "Were there, uh, a lot of mechanical rides?" he asked. "I'd probably have a less hard time of it there than you. I'm not as-" he used his hand to try and motion how tall Thor was, realized it as a failed enterprise, and shrugged. "... Iconic."

[almightythor]

"You know this place? It was...not dangerous. Still, I do not wish to go back there." Thor had always thought he wanted children but having so many pawing on him in such a short amount of time was enough to make any man rethink the idea of having a family.

"I could show you that door if you decided you wanted to risk it."

[barton_me]

"Dangerous in the terms of the public, or dangerous in that you just really don't like children climbing on you?" Clint asked.

"Maybe later. When I'm in the mood for spinning teacup rides."