nightingalesong (nightingalesong) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2009-10-27 19:08:00

Entry tags:

iason, inactive - daniel sherwood, inactive - emily banner, inactive - james romanov rogers, inactive - nightingale, inactive - swashbuckler, lady devil, sammy fury, team - avengers, toni rhodes

A difficult conversation:
It's been a couple days since the assault on SHIELD. Nightingale hasn't been seen by the Avengers since then.

But eventually, things need to be sorted out. So against his own better judgment, Qamar uses Nightingale's Avengers pass to get into the Hydrobase, then finds himself approaching Sammy's room. He takes several seconds to calm his heart, then knocks on the door.

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nightingalesong
2009-10-28 04:22 am UTC (link)

His tone is strong and even. "When my father was killed by a suicide bomber, I found out who was behind the bombing... and I tried to put a stop to it. But I had no idea what I was doing. They captured me. They tortured me. They shot me." He opens his shirt, showing bullet wounds on his belly... wounds that should have left him dying painfully.

"And they left me in the desert."

He refuses to look away from Sammy, meeting her eyes.

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	sammyfury 2009-10-28 04:31 am UTC (link)
	"How did you survive?" Curiosity would take over when she was nursing a resentment at being used by Qamar as well as Mikel. She stubbornly hung onto it. "Your file says you survived but nothing about how it happened." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 04:32 am UTC (link)
	"I didn't," he replies simply. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 04:35 am UTC (link)
	"You're pretty lively for a dead man." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 04:37 am UTC (link)
	"By pure chance, I found a lost temple of Khufu, the ancient Egyptian God of the Moon. And I died in the shadow of his statue." He pauses a moment. He's never told another living soul what he's telling Sammy. "Through Khufu, I was reborn." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 04:45 am UTC (link)
	There are crazier stories out there and she's heard a few, so it doesn't occur to her to doubt him. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her chest. "Then what happened?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nightingalesong
2009-10-28 04:51 am UTC (link)

"I was given powers and skills. And I put together a costume based on Khufu. But I am not a tall man, and my frame is not particularly masculine." He shrugs, but still doesn't break eye contact. "When I attacked the group that had killed me, one of the few people who caught a glimpse of me thought I was a woman."

He tilts his head. "I knew how brutal these groups could be. I wanted to protect, not only myself, but my friends, my neighbors, anyone I'd ever known, even if I had no family left. So I knew I needed to keep my identity a closely-guarded secret. But what better way to do so than to pretend to be a totally different gender than I truly was?"

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	sammyfury 2009-10-28 04:58 am UTC (link)
	"Even in New York when you approached the Avengers for membership?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 05:01 am UTC (link)
	He pauses. He's not sure how to broach this. "I trust the Avengers with this information," he says. "I trust you." He breaks eye contact finally. "But I don't trust our enemies." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 05:07 am UTC (link)
	That was a 'duh' moment. "That would be why they're enemies," she said with exaggerated patience. "A team runs on trust. Not trusting us is playing with our heads." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 05:59 am UTC (link)
	"I can't underestimate our enemies," he explains with a similarly exaggerated patient tone. "I can't trust that they won't find a way to read our minds, or..." He breaks off before he can say, mind control. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 06:05 am UTC (link)
	Sammy flushed with anger. She can fill in the blanks just fine without the help. "I didn't tell anybody what I saw. You can walk right out the door and go on being Nightingale. No one will know the difference." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 06:07 am UTC (link)
	He pauses. "But what if you'd known beforehand?" he asks, carefully... and even compassionately. "Would I have been safe? Would my neighbors? Or would I have been targeted?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 06:17 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know. How could I know that? As far as I knew, Nightingale wasn't even on his list of targets." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 06:19 am UTC (link)
	"I don't know either," he admits. "But I never want anyone to get hurt because they were standing next to me, and I was careless. Ever." He drops his head. "I am sorry I betrayed your trust, Sammy. I never wanted that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

sammyfury
2009-10-28 06:33 am UTC (link)

She could hear Dad now. "If you're going to be in this business, you accept people are going to get hurt. Or you get out and stay out. That's the reality."

She unwound herself, wiped away some non-existent moisture around her eyes, and moved to the dresser in the corner. A flat, wrapped package was picked up. "I knew she...you had secrets and I didn't pry. I took the two of you at face value."

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	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 06:36 am UTC (link)
	He looks at the package, but he doesn't say anything. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 06:44 am UTC (link)
	She held it out to him. "I've been meaning to give this to you, but as you know I was a little caught up in being a brainwashed drone. Something I always loved as a kid. I won't tell them about Nightingale. That's up to you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 06:46 am UTC (link)
	He frowns and looks down at it. He carefully unwraps it. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 06:56 am UTC (link)
	It won't bite, although a child's imagination could picture the inhabitants of Where The Wild Things Are doing plenty of biting. She loved the book, had even gotten Uncle Ben Grimm to read it to her during one of the infamous floating poker games Dad hosted. "Now what?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nightingalesong 2009-10-28 07:02 am UTC (link)
	He smiles at the book. "Thank you." He tucks it under his arm, then turns to face her. "Now... I go about rebuilding the trust you once had in me." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sammyfury 2009-10-28 07:25 am UTC (link)
	He managed to catch her by surprise. Again. "I thought...I mean... What?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nightingalesong
2009-10-28 03:23 pm UTC (link)

"I've aided the Avengers because I believed it was the right thing to do," he admits. "But I've never really felt a part of the team... and that's my own fault. I keep the whole team at arm's length. And that's not fair to anyone."

He studies her face for a moment. "I had my reasons for keeping secrets, but I kept secrets. And that hurt you. And any justification I might have doesn't change the fact that I hurt you. And I must make amends for that, for my own sake if for no other reason. I hope it will help you trust me again."

He turns and leaves her room before she can say anything further... and before he starts overthinking what he's saying.

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