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Always wondered about that.

[Not Treadstone or Blackbriar, she doesn't seem the type. Maybe Outcome, but pretty much everybody from the project's been wiped. Government? Probably. Her face is familiar, half-remembered from some news reel somewhere, but everything in-project had the varnish of convenience. Whatever it was helpful for him to know. It can't always be trusted.

He figures she's not a major player, maybe not even somebody he needs to be worried about, but he'll keep an eye on her anyway. Say hi. See what she does.]

[Pepper, on the other hand, knows exactly who he is. Or, at least, who she thinks he is. She'd seen the Avengers manifesto - sorry, the response team manifesto - so she recognized Hawkeye, a.k.a. Agent Clint Barton, from the pictures and footage.]

I imagine so, being a secret agent and all. [Pepper smiles slightly.] It's nice to finally meet you in person.

Long day? Tell me about it. [ Just one of those missions where nothing seemed to go right and Janet is bushed. But she smiles tiredly and rests her cheek on her fisted hand to listen. ]

[Pepper nods, smiling wanly.] Alien invasions tend to take it out of you.

Uh-huh, yeah. Yeah. [ That, along with carrying Ant Man around and being shot off the tips of arrows - but it's all satisfying and Janet smiles tiredly at Pepper. ]

How're things on your end?

Rebuilding, slowly. We're out of the woods, anyway. What about you?

I'm Pepper, by the way.

I'm just - finding my footing right now being now and all, but, uh - the whole alien attack seems to becoming more of a thing right now. And I've just been admiring everyone's handy work after the whole mess before.

[ She smiles brightly, extending a hand. ] I've heard only good things 'bout you. I'm Janet. Janet Van Dyne.

You've heard of me? [She sighs.] And here I was sticking to first names to avoid that. [But as the public face of Stark Industries these days, recognition is hard to avoid. So she smiles and shakes Janet's hand.] Nice to meet you.

At least New York was the only place hit. Things could have been a lot worse.

Oops! Yeah, I'm also totally nosy and I"m pretty good with faces. [ She smiles sheepishly before brightening. ]

And it was soo cool seeing everyone work together to get things done and keep it from spreading outside of the city. It was - well, really inspiring. For me, anyway.

[Pepper laughs.] It's all right; I guess I'll get used to being known as other than the woman-behind-the-man eventually. [Although she's still probably known as that, too.]

The Avengers were a gamble. I knew they'd pay off, though.

[A blink, a moment of uncertainty, but he covers for it quickly, it doesn't linger long.

Okay, so she knows him. It narrows the pool, away from "unfortunate bystander" to government, opens up the parent organizations again. She wouldn't be so blatant if she was Outcome, everybody there with a good head on their shoulder's run to ground already if they're smart, so he leaves that possibility out.

Doesn't seem like she's part of a wet team, she's too...feminine. Real. And he knows that doesn't always mean anything, but it's something to go off of at least.]

You too. Sorry, I forgot your name, it's been kind of crazy lately.

[A smile, an apologetic laugh; he'll go along with it for now, see how far he can skate before he has to make his move. All else fails, he's got a handgun stuck down the back of his jeans, he'll have a contingency plan.]

You can say that again. [Pepper gives a laugh of her own, but it's rather strained.]

It's Pepper. Pepper Potts. Tony's girlfriend. [She likes introducing herself like that, although sometimes she catches herself almost saying 'Tony's assistant' instead. It amounts to the same thing, sometimes. Anyway, people know she's also in charge of (most of) Stark Industries as well these days, so it's not like that's all she is.]

Speaking of Tony, I hope he didn't give you too much trouble, Agent Barton. I know he can be a bit of a...loose cannon. [Literally.]

Edited 2012-09-03 13:09 (UTC)

Pepper. Right. Nice to meet you.

[The name does ring a bell. Hers, not the one she called him by. Multimillion dollar corporation, formerly weapons but they've started branching out. Runs the company while the guy it's named for does all the handshaking and public stuff.

Not connected to Treadstone or Blackbriar, not that he's aware of, and that's something of a relief. It doesn't mark her as a non-threat, she could still pass him along to someone who is if he doesn't play this right, but it's not an immediate write-off either.

Barton, though. Aaron doesn't know him. Not a cover he's ever used, and unlike some of the other subjects he remembers. Remembers every mission he's ever done, every cover he's ever used. Remembers all the way back to Before.

So great. It's back to improvisation and hoping he doesn't screw it up. Fine. He shrugs, casual but respectful. The demeanor of an agent, a professional. A soldier, and really it's not so hard to do, it's the role he's played for the past six years already. Nothing to worry about, nothing out of the ordinary here.]

No more than usual, ma'am. You know Tony, unprofessional as hell but he manages to get the job done.

[Not that he has any idea what he's talking about.]

It's not a bad position for now. Anyway, there are tons of us who recognize your talents.

[ She nods quickly in agreement, tucking her hair behind her ear. ] Good to have a lot of faith. People don't invest much in faith nowadays, I think.

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This should be interesting!

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heeee yes. very much so

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