Entry tags:

-character reset, -complete, -narrative, -open thread, bobbi morse, clint barton, stephen strange, wanda maximoff

Till human voices wake us and we drown
Who: Clint Barton, probably Dr Strange, anyone who'd answer a S.H.I.E.L.D. transponder, and OPEN (multithreads welcome)
What: Re-Intro!
When: NOW Y'ALL
Rating/Warning: Green I think? Possibly language, definite half-remembered angst

He sang, "Yodelay-hee, I ain't no untarnished Galahad,
Down from Arcadia like a dream in your head
But gentle lady, lend me the true heart I never had
And I'll stain the lavenders red
With all of this good blood I shed,"
Lancelot said.
~L~A~U~R~A~

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.
~L~I~L~A~

~~~
His fingers closed on dirt and ashes. His throat felt raw, which was what made him realize he was screaming.

What… why… what was…

His fingers were scraping themselves red on concrete. No. Wait. A second ago… he tries to dig in and just presses out blood through his fingertips.

Had he been here all along? What happened to… he was just… there was something…

He looked up.

He was dressed in full gear. He wasn't in a field, of… what… crops? There was no rural house…

He was in New York. Back in New York.

Ashes and dirt

Slowly, so slowly, he stood, looking around.

There were no Chitauri in the sky. There was no damage to the surroundings.

Have I been here all along?

If he was in New York… dressed like…

An Avenger? But how far back does this go?

Was he still under Loki's control? …No, because that was a thought that would never have occurred to him while it was happening. He hadn't felt controlled. He'd felt like everything he did was entirely his own idea.

Which was so much worse. Which he hadn't been able to explain… to…

…there was something… I just had it… something's missing…

But if he was awake now, perhaps he'd just woken up. And how much had been illusion?

He opened his palms and looked down at his hands. He'd just scraped them raw, fingertips oozing blood. Great. He'd just severely handicapped his own ability to fight. Was that the point? Was he about to be attacked? Or was it just some kind of vengeance, a last gasp of malice, before for whatever reason he'd been let go?

I won't let go I will not let go

Something is missing

Something was missing…

Barton blinked. He tried pinching his own torn hands. He muttered aloud to hear what his voice sounded like: "Wake up."

Then he searched himself until he found his transponder and flipped it to what should be a S.H.I.E.L.D. frequency. "This is Hawkeye, does anyone read me?"