capeandcowl | 24 ⊗ video ⊗ might've liked to know this earlier

[Hank is huddled over his worktable, playing with a small camera.]

I've always been something of a tinker, even since I was a child. [He gives the lens a momentary smirk.] But you'll know this already, you've seen it.

Even with having some sort of block this past month, wondering if I was doing something wrong when all the pieces seemed like they were in place. I know that because I checked, double-checked, ran diagnostics, tried alternatives. Took the every prototype apart and rebuilt it numerous times, trying my best to isolate and work out any kinks.

And even then, we never detected a single Skrull until they revealed themselves. But see, there was still one thing I'd never gotten to tinkering with. Funnily enough, the first thing I noticed when I returned.

[He points to the camera.] I keep this remote camera for Network interface when I prefer to work hands-free. It shorted out while I was gone, and I hadn't had time to repair it. Doing so would require familiarizing myself with the circuitry of the new communicators, in order to copy it.

So, tell me. How many of you had your communicators in Times Square last night? [He holds up a small silicone tube to the camera, almost buried in his large fingers.] And who can tell me what this is?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

By "we" I meant the Avengers. If one of them peeled someone's face off, I'm going to have words and then some.

And, yes, I do believe I did what was necessary. Did I enjoy it? No. But it's not the first time I've had blood on my hands and it likely won't be the last.

And yet, many saw it as an opportunity to commit sanctioned murder. Do you really feel there was no other way for this to end than a wholesale slaughter?

I offered the one who wanted to defect sanctuary and eventual freedom. The rest of them made their choice. If we hadn't killed them, they would have killed us.

Death doesn't mean the same thing for us as it does for them.

If there were a group of terrorists in some place like Afghanistan that blew up a train station, attacked a place of history and culture, and killed over thirty people including a little girl, would you still have this reaction to soldiers doing their jobs?

That's not even counting the mess in Times Square. Dozens are dead and the total number of civilian casualties numbers in the hundreds, Hank. Don't make the mistake of thinking they were innocents.

But can we be so certain we're heroes, either? We were unable to do anything to prevent those deaths, we only avenged them!

[ ugh fuck this she is switching to video ]

Hank, we can't save everyone. No matter how hard we try. It hurts and it makes us doubt ourselves, but we absolutely cannot do that for long. If we do, that's just going to mean we screw up even more.

Look at the bright side of things for now. We have a possible location for the kidnapped people, and they didn't manage to kill one of the Avengers this time.

[ IF ONLY SHE KNEW... ]

They have two of ours. Can we be certain that all of those hostages were kept in good health?

Not for certain. But I think it's safe to say what happened last time didn't happen this time.

[ jan :c ]

No, too short term for that. They had years to infiltrate and acclimate last time.

I know. [ pause ] Why are you letting yourself get sucked into a downward spiral over all this?

...Because, throughout this whole ordeal, the only contribution I was capable of making came too late to have any kind of a difference on the situation.

That's not your fault.

How isn't it? If I'd caught this two days ago, the subway, the museum, Times Square. All of that could have been avoided. We would've been able to stop them preemptively.

Hank, stop it. Right now. Letting yourself get sucked into this isn't going to help anyone, and in fact I'm worried about it hurting things.

We can't change the past. We can only learn from it. Now pull yourself together, we have hostages to find.

[Sigh.]

What do you need me to do?

We're going to need first aid kits on the ships and things for people to carry in case any of the kidnapping victims are injured.

I'll make sure you're fully equipped. Should I bring the supplies to the mansion, or is there another departure point you'll be working from?

Bring them to the mansion. We can move them if we end up launching from elsewhere.

Alright, I'll start getting these kits prepared.

Do we know anything in particular about the situation that I should prepare them for, or are we just hoping for the best?

We'll know more once we can find the ship, but it's a lot of hoping for the best.

I'll have to keep it for general purposes, then. Hopefully inclusive enough that you'll have what you need if you encounter any nasty surprises.

So long as we can figure out how to do basic triage with what we've got, we should be fine.

I'll ensure that it's all easy enough to understand then.

Thanks, Hank.

video, encrypted

professorlionface - 2012-03-11 01:13 (UTC) - Expand

bests - 2012-03-11 01:19 (UTC) - Expand

professorlionface - 2012-03-11 06:30 (UTC) - Expand

24 ⊗ video ⊗ might've liked to know this earlier

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