survival of the fittest

[advanced]

who: Bucky and anyone!
what: Bucky is a big old thief, tracks down his name twin, and also goes monster fighting with Clark
when: Anytime between March 8th and March 12th
where: Around Quarantine
warnings: Probably violence

[i: Around Quarantine; open to anyone]

[Bucky has chosen to eschew the communal housing gifted to him, as well as all the benefits that affords. Like food, shelter, and access to a shower. The last two aren't such a big deal, but he needs a lot of food to keep him going, the bastardised serum in his veins makes him burn through calories at a ridiculous rate.

Which is why he's ghosting through Quarantine on the look out for empty housing or possible a not very well attended street food stall, in order to snatch a hand out and take something. He can be found shoplifting in the street; or, if you'd prefer, breaking into your character's housing in search of food.]

[ii: Down a back alley somewhere; closed to Bucky Barnes]

[Ever since he saw that name on the network, his own name, Bucky has been in overdrive trying to figure out what's going on. It takes him a day or so to track down who owns the username, and then another day to just follow them around and try and figure out who they are. It's only when he catches the imposter out alone, whatever he might be doing, that he reveals himself by trying to drag the other man down an alleyway in an explosion of movement and bad decisions.]

[iii: Monster hunting; closed to Clark Kent]

[The perimeter is of interest to Bucky, partially because it means an escape from this town and partially because he knows that Stark is going to be making upgrades to it. It's why he's scouting around it today.

He's too focused on the possible security measures, trying to find surveillance equipment or defence mechanisms, that he has completely failed to notice the large monster shaped like a monstrous caterpillar creeping up behind him on silent feet.]

Comments

(iii)

[signifies]

[ He's being followed.

Clark hasn't been here long enough to learn what the other residents' bodies sound like out here in the forest. He tries to make a note of their voices or something that might mark them out if he had to pinpoint them in an emergency. For 'Simon', it's been that arm of his.

There's no harm meant in it. Clark is only careful to eat a bit more when he knows he's being watched, and not move anything a regular human his size can't move. He listens for the monsters more, knowing that sometimes they venture out all this way.

Some of them are very quiet, like this one, if not for the fact that it rustles and he can hear its stomach. It's lucky he's as fast as he is, or this would be bloodier.

A red-and-blue blur flashes past Bucky's periphery, as Clark puts himself in between them. ]

Get clear!

[ He dives at the monster, trying to lure it deeper into the forest, instead of the perimeter defences. ]

[advanced]

[Everything happens all at once, and Bucky's instincts crank into overdrive. There's a voice shouting, a bright blur, and the screech of a monster who's been denied its prey.

Bucky has a gun out from where it was concealed in the waistband of his pants in half a second, and is firing it past Clark at the monster in the next half second. He puts two bullets right in its face, but that doesn't seem to do anything other than make it angry.

It rears up to an impressive ten feet, maw opening to reveal a circular mass of teeth, before it lunges at Clark as the nearer target. And how did he get to be the nearer target? Bucky will want that answered afterwards, but for now he's not about to let someone else get hurt for protecting him.]

Fall back!

[signifies]

Go!

[ Terrifying as those teeth are, they'll never be any match for Kryptonian skin. Clark meets it with a punch, sending it rolling over through the trees. It stops on its back, waving its legs in the air furiously.

He lands and approaches. The monster turns over, its attention squarely on him. ]

[advanced]

[Unfortunately for Clark, Bucky isn't good at following orders any more, so he doesn't go anywhere.

That punch was stronger than it should be, the creature is too big to be toppled by an average person hitting. Perhaps he could do it, Steve too, did Clark also have some sort of serum?

Now isn't the time to worry over it, literally launching himself up to try and latch onto the monster's head before it can get to its prey.]

[signifies]

[ wow can u not???????? ]

I'm going to flip it over!

[advanced]

[He hears this right as he latches onto the caterpillar monster, which isn't ideal. But he does use his momentum to keep going, planting a foot on its head and leaping off which should, hopefully, distract it enough to let Clark make his move.]

[signifies]

[ And he moves quickly. Aside from that arm, he assumes 'Simon' is fully human. Clark's still reeling from the casualty list in Metropolis. He's not allowing another one to get hurt or die because of his inexperience.

Unfortunately, he can't hide that in the face of someone with a military background, nor can he disguise he's not really willing to kill the monster. His default is 'subdue', where everyone walks away unhurt. ]

[advanced]

[Bucky has no such compunctions, not yet.

Perhaps he's moving towards a place where he doesn't want to kill, but not enough fragments of who he used to be have made it to the surface for that yet, especially not to spare a monster that clearly just wants to kill him in return.

So as soon as it's flipped, Bucky is using that moment of vulnerability to draw a gun and shoot it three times right in the head with pinpoint precision.]

[signifies]

[ He acted much faster than Clark would've.

It goes still. Clark blinks, scanning it to see if the bullets did their work. ]

I don't think those will be enough. Hold on.

[ He's going to pick it up and fly it deeper into the forest. if it tries to come back, he'll have to kill it. ]

[advanced]

[So... Clark can fly. He's not human, then. Or, at least, he's definitely not wholly human. Bucky contemplates bolting while Clark is gone in the forest, but he decides to wait.

He's leaning against a tree, deceptively calm, with the gun nowhere to be seen whenever Clark reappears.]

What are you?

[signifies]

[ Somewhere in the forest there's the smell of burning flesh. Clark hit it hard enough and severed its ability to heal. It'll be carrion for the others, and all that's left to say he was there are flattened trees from the impact.

He lands some distance from 'Simon', and walks towards him. His body language is loose, trying to be unthreatening. ]

My name is Kal-El. I'm from another world.

[advanced]

[He doesn't move from his position against the tree, but Clark will probably hear the shifting of metal plates under his hoodie as he tenses with that approach.]

We're all from other worlds here.

[Deceptively bland.]

You want to be more specific, "Clark"?

[signifies]

[ The last thing he wants to do is scare the man. 'Simon' has enough cause to be wary. He doesn't need to think Clark is here to hurt him too. ]

That's also my name. I was raised by human parents.

[advanced]

But what are you really?

[From another world doesn't really cover it. Bucky's trying to assess what sort of threat Clark might pose if it came to a fight.]

[signifies]

[ He's really loathe to say more than 'alien'. Krypton is a dead world and it belongs to only him now. Selfishly, he doesn't want to share that.

Also, 'I shoot lasers from my eyes and none of the weapons you have will work against me' isn't going to defuse the situation. ]

Do you have aliens, where you come from?

[advanced]

[It's so strange how only a couple of years back everyone would have said no, and now the whole world is almost used to the idea of other worlds beyond their own.]

Yes.

[He's not volunteering more than that, if Clark isn't going to volunteer more either.]

[signifies]

[ They're from different worlds, since he didn't recognise a Metropolis. 'Kryptonian' might not have meant anything to him even if Clark had been forthcoming.

This is a better point of reference. ]

What kinds of aliens?

[advanced]

[There's a moment of hesitation where he weighs up how safe it might be to reveal, he's trying to keep information about him and his world concealed, but eventually he decides that this much is probably safe enough.]

Asgardians. But there might be others.

[There probably are others.]

[signifies]

[ If that's what he says first, it's probably the nearest equivalent. ]

From the Norse myths?

[ Matt had mentioned that. ]

Can they fly?

[advanced]

[He nods in answer to the first question, it's still sort of bizarre that an actual Norse "God" is fighting on a superhero team.]

I don't know if they can fly, I haven't met any of them.

[This isn't getting him anywhere, he still has no idea how much of a threat Clark is.]

You can. What else can you do?

[signifies]

[ Having been so careful in a world of cardboard, Clark doesn't even know his own limits. He didn't even know he could fly until recently. He swallows. ]

I'm a lot stronger and faster than humans... I can also hear you from a long way away.

[ He nods to the left shoulder. ]

[advanced]

[That's still so vague. Bucky is also stronger and faster than pretty much any other human, bar Steve, but how much stronger and faster is Clark? He's distracted from that hen the implications of that second revelation hit him like a solid punch.]

You can hear my arm.

[It's not a question, more an accusation. He rolls his shoulder almost subconsciously, and winces slightly. He wrenched where the metal meets flesh during the fight.]

[signifies]

Yes.

[ Clark nods. That other sound of tearing and healing is still there, and it's bothering him that he doesn't know what it is.

He speaks softly, with concern. ]

I can see inside it, too.

[ There's oil deposits on some of the gears that'll need to be cleaned soon. As well as something small and blue that seems to be an energy source. ]

[advanced]

[He'll likely be able to see that the electronics seem to be connected to the nerve endings of what's left of his real arm, allowing some sensation in the prosthetic and also for it to hurt a hell of a lot more than is necessary.

Bucky is quite obviously tensing ever more with each passing moment now.]

Stop it.

[He doesn't want some random person, no matter how kind they've been, looking at his inner workings.]

There's nothing there to look at, it's just my arm.

[signifies]

[ It's pain.

He's hearing the muscles and bones trying to cope. Clark's mouth twitches unhappily. ]

I'm not looking.

[ He's only glanced at it, and looks away quickly. Clark remembers a lot of what he sees, and he had enough time during the storm. He'd been more concerned about the weapons 'Simon' had been carrying. ]

Are you all right? That creature didn't hurt you?