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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Jan 27, 2014 14:26:28 GMT -5
Dalton had been sent to spy on a target. An apartment had been fixed for her across the street of where the mutant lived and she was to follow him discreetly and report all his movements. If possible, she should play dumb bimbo and try to approach the target to gain access to his house. If they were lucky, he'd fall for it and she'd be able to get the information they needed. If not... well, all it took for her to use her more aggressive ways of persuasion on someone was an order from the higher ups.
With that on mind, Dalton's mind was able to forget her personal problems temporarily. She was the kind of person who got totally sucked up by whatever work she was doing at the time. That day, for instance, she was pretending to be just another innocent jogger, working out at the park. The sporty clothes they had chosen for her concealed the fact that she was obviously too well trained for a bimbo quite efficiently.
She ran pretending to be having to make a huge effort to keep her pace steady but on the inside, her senses were alert and looking for the target, who was said to also go for a run at the Central Park in that timeframe.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 21:23:23 GMT -5
Dalton wasn't the only one out for a quick job, although this jogger was merely out for a quick run himself. Having been cooped up in the labs for several days now had left Jacob aching for some fresh air, especially wanting to stretch his wings. He had done this to fly to Central Park since the Dark Avengers were across town from it but he had made sure he stopped some place to land and put his wings in a backpack like get up to hide his wings. He remembered the last fiasco in the park and really didn't need to have that happening again. So today he was hiding his wings for the time being and was heading off on his own run to get some fresh air, Central Park being the few places in New York that offered it.
His workout gear wasn't anything interesting. A plain gray t-shirt, black slightly loose shorts, socks, and running shoes, that was about it. He also had an Ipod he usually kept with him listening to music on his run and the only thing odd about him was the "backpack" he carried. Some people stared at him oddly but Jacob usually shrugged this off and kept on running, already beginning to sweat slightly but even with this he seemed in top physical condition as it was. His avian physiology helped a lot with that and he usually was the type to work out all the time.
Though after some time of running Jacob came to a quick stop and took out his water, taking a few quick sips and wiping his sweaty brow. He wasn't exactly tired yet, he could go for some hours more without tiring too quickly but it seemed like a good point to stop. Though he was also always on alert of those around him, so far only seeing other runners and common people coming and going, maybe some mutants in disguise as he was. Well...except for his bird-like eyes which some people did a double take to look back at him to which he only smiled and bared it. But even someone with the trained eye could notice that Jacob was being quite watchful of those who passed while he caught his breathe for bit.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Jan 28, 2014 20:01:53 GMT -5
For a while, Dalton just ran a decent amount of yards behind Jacob, not focusing her eyes on him, but keeping her concentration on whatever point of her peripheral vision he was occupying at the moment. She had a lot of stamina and had learned to keep going for hours after her body wanted to give up, so acting like she was just another casual jogger was taking the woman a great deal of effort. Pushing her limits was more her style and this job's challenge lay precisely in the opposite, but if they were able to get her information about her son, there was very little Dalton wouldn't do to get in SHIELD's good list.
Her gear wasn't interesting either, but Dalton's general hate towards girly girls and anything to do with them made her feel murderous towards whoever had picked up that white and pink combination of T-shirt, long gym pants and sneakers. The image the mirror had reflected made her sick and she forced her mind to picture her body in an army recruit suit, trying to pretend she was back into her known terrain.
A change in her target's movement got her attention and, for the first time, her yellowish eyes zeroed on him for a moment, just enough to notice he had stopped. Then, Dalton had to fake being too exhausted to keep on running and casually stopped a few feet from him, panting. She appeared to be too lost in her own world to pay attention to anyone around her and seemed as if she were a total noob who didn't even know how to pace her breath correctly to make the most out of her stamina. Playing innocent girl wasn't her forte, but she tried to remember her irritatingly weak mother and copied her expression, as if another step would kill her.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 20:38:31 GMT -5
Luckily for Dalton though, Jacob hadn't exactly paid much attention to things behind him until he had come to a stop. It was then when he became much more alert and focused on the things around him, seeing people giving him looks now and again but they seemed to go on their merry way making him relax on and off. With having faced several challenges in being a mutant already he had learned to be a bit more cautious of his environment and with the possibility of the Avengers now knowing of him they'd likely run into him by chance or recognize his face should that young Avenger he came across a long while ago have said something.
So far though everything seemed just fine to the point Jacob almost considered to stop being so paranoid. It was then Dalton stopping nearby and looking exhausted caught his attention and despite having a slight dislike towards humans he didn't exactly completely hate them. Besides, maybe some small conversation wouldn't hurt for a fellow jogger. "Seems you've had quite a run huh?" Jacob spoke up towards the woman as he put his water bottle away for now seeming as he didn't need it and was just about recovered from his own run.
All the while though, the young man never suspected one thing of this woman being a SHIELD agent in disguise nor the fact she was following him. Jacob himself never viewed himself in actually going under the watchful eye of SHIELD despite his new status as a Dark Avenger and they really hadn't done anything that major as a team, but perhaps separately. Unfortunately the four of them were still working to even be a team at all, most often it seemed they might as well been better off solo villains than a true alliance of them.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Jan 28, 2014 21:33:51 GMT -5
Considering the strange backpack her target was wearing, Dalton doubted he'd be one to turn around often, which little people did while jogging anyway. She had been counting on that to succeed in her mission.
A part of Dalton wasn't quite expecting Jacob to fall for her little trick, but she showed no sign of surprise when he did, pretending to be a girl used to get some attention from the opposite sex. When he talked to her, Dalton was half bent forward as if trying to catch her breath and she turned her head to Jacob with an innocent and open expression. She was trying her best at being and acting nice, though she was usually the tough type. "I try," she replied innocently, with a half smile that was as charming as she could make it. "I'm not too good at this though." Her eyes lowered in an attempt at embarrassment.
"Do you have any tips?" She asked with a friendly smile. Inside, all the poor innocent girl was irking Dalton beyond words, but she didn't let that leak out of her mask. Playing with men had been one of her main past-times during most of her marriage so, in a way, she knew how to carry herself in certain situations. Right now, she was expecting to come across as mildly interested in the other jogger's looks at least, though not openly trying to hit at him. She was stuck with playing dumb bimbo for a while, anyway.
SHIELD didn't have anything against Jacob, yet. But apparently felt like if there was going to be a new Dark Avengers member, they should at least know what he was like in order to be able to asses how much of a thread the guy would be to the organization's interests.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 22:01:14 GMT -5
Jacob watched Dalton as she spoke back to him, finding the innocent look a little odd for him. Usually when people looked innocent they were either aiming to get something or trying to pull something, rarely being something of true innocence to which Jacob had seen some of his so called friends back England who had been that way at first when they discovered what he really was. And to him some of her expressions might as well been half hearted ones in a way. Overall, it just seemed odd for someone to seem so innocent which did make him a bit uneasy inwardly but he didn't express this outwardly.
"I suppose work on controlling your breathing and building up your stamina perhaps," Jacob finally responded kindly in return, trying to hold himself back from calling her out on not having to act innocent. But it probably wouldn't exactly help in trying to make a little conversation and he might just be reading into her expression and innocent appearance too much with considering his past. For now though it was something he left alone and reminded himself to just remain calm and not let his alertness get the best of him. Who knew, this girl could be just an every day jogger like he usually was and there was nothing to worry about. Though it probably would also help to introduce himself now that he thought about it.
"By the way, names Jacob Williams. Forgot one of the most important things when starting a conversation."He chuckled as he held out his hand as an offer to shake in introduction. The least thing he could do was just carry this on and be at ease like he had intended. But Jacob was becoming aware he was still aching to allow his wings to be free and not be bundled up in the backpack. Though the drawback to this was drawing too much attention and some maybe recognizing him from his encounter with the avenger before.
Nonetheless, he had to roll his shoulders just a bit to try and stop the slight twitching in his wings that occurred from time to time. And if anyone really watched they could see the backpack he carried moved once in a while when he wasn't even moving at all.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Jan 28, 2014 22:30:50 GMT -5
Dalton nodded. "I used to do good at the gym, but maybe jogging wasn't the greatest idea." That was, in a way, true, though her reasons to think it was a bad idea involved mainly her gear and having to pretend being less than the achieved woman she was. She had always found half-truths, as far fetched as they might seem, to be the best way to lie and get away with it, had even been instructed on that regard years ago. She, too got out her water bottle and took a quick sip before putting the cap back on and reattaching it to her pants's waist.
"Elizabeth Dalton, but people call me Liz." She replied with a friendly smile. That part, she did like. Meeting new people was interesting for someone who liked to study all kinds of personalities as a hobby. The woman chuckled at his comment, too. "Well, I can barely remember my name before my morning coffee, so you're forgiven." She said lightly. That one was a trickier one but still true. While she had been trained on her self-discipline most of her life, Dalton definitely wasn't a morning person and had to put an extra effort on any activities that were scheduled before noon. She also slept in on the weekends, when she wasn't obsessed training. Either way, training could wait until noon if it was a Sunday.
Dalton's peripheral vision was still trying to catch whatever she could, senses stretched as far as a human's would go to do her job right. She caught something about his backpack but didn't dare to look directly at it. Instead, focused on the conversation.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2014 17:13:01 GMT -5
"Well, nice to meet you Elizabeth unless you prefer Liz." Jacob said with a smile before he chuckled at her next words. "Most people are like that, usually can't start the day without a hot cup of coffee. After all you don't want to be like a zombie the rest of the day without it." He agreed, knowing he had gone a few days without coffee once and usually had to get it when he still felt tired sometimes. Though this was usually from getting up or long hours in the lab, sometimes studying also came into that equation as a factor.
In reality, Jacob could recall several times he had to have some bouts of caffeine to help him get by or an energy drink perhaps to give him that boost. Even with superhuman stamina that wasn't always going to help him. Especially when someone was balancing being a anti-hero,a college student, and helping to get the Dark Avengers base into decent working condition. "Still though, even if it's been a while since you've been in a gym or jogged I think you'll improve pretty quickly. Just takes a little while to build your stamina." He said with a smile, hardly betraying that of a villainous persona most might expect. True that he might be on the side of the wicked but that didn't mean he would have to always betray himself that way.
Though as their conversation continued Jacob was beginning to feel some discomfort for keeping his wings up in the harness. Something that commonly happened during his days in college and when he wasn't acting like an innocent every day civilian. This began to show somewhat in Jacob's expression as he shifted a little on his feet and continued to shift his back and roll his shoulders to try and ignore the aching of wanting to let them free.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Feb 2, 2014 19:42:46 GMT -5
"Liz is fine." Dalton said humming a tune inside her head to numb just how wrong that felt. It had been at least two decades since someone had steadily called her that. "And it's nice to meet you too." She added with a smile. He looked like an OK-guy and she wondered why they would be interested in keeping an eye on him. "Oh, it's definitely harder without coffee, especially while working on a crazy schedule." She admitted as jovially as any other woman. When not on duty she could be really fun to be around and in that moment, Dalton tried to think of herself as not working to get out of her serious mind frame and look more sociable. The talk about a busy schedule reminded her of her last years as recruit trainer, where she sometimes worked for twelve hours a day and then came home to a baby and a husband. It had surely been almost impossible without an insane amount of coffee.
Dalton nodded. "Gotta be either very determinate or very stubborn to keep it up everyday." It was a joke. She still mentally admitted to be part of the second group, though and it was true that she had gotten a bit out of shape. Training troops first and then being locked in the hellicarrier weren't the same as the hard and long deployments she had been used to for years. "I'm so out of shape!" She thought out loud, and it was her most sincere phrase that day. A hand partially covered her face as her head shook to the sides in shame, while a mea-culpa smile danced on her lips.
The woman noticed that the man she was talking to seemed to be uncomfortable. Maybe by little shifts of position or muscle twitches or whatever. It made her think that maybe he was bored and didn't want to push her luck any further that day. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from your exercise." Dalton said with a little apologetic smile.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 21:35:38 GMT -5
"Busy schedules...can't go a moment without some form of caffeine or energy drink when that happens." Jacob agreed, knowing his schedules tended to be quite busy. He may not have been in the military or organization like SHIELD but he had quite a few demands just from school and his new position as a Dark Avenger. Surprisingly, both turned out to have their own demands and it was a matter Jacob was trying to adapt his life with. Sometimes he'd be stuck doing two things at once during the day and it usually left his exhausted despite superhuman physiology he had thanks to his avian mutations.
A smile came to his lips though as he nodded, it was one thing he couldn't agree more as it took a lot of determination and dedication to stick to such a regimen. He usually tried to stick to some kind of work out plan in between what he already did during the day and that morning happened to be one of them. Even villains had to have breaks once in a while and Jacob began to figure Dalton was out to get a break of her own when it came to jogging. "Heh, with my own schedule surprised I'm not in the same boat as you."He chuckled, which was partially true. Jacob couldn't remember the last time he could keep a consistent time he usually could work out and knew even he could likely get out of shape if he didn't keep this up. So, perhaps there wasn't much difference between him and Liz in this aspect, that much he knew of.
But upon her final words Jacob quickly shook his head, "It's not that at all Liz, just um..."How was he suppose to explain the real problem? He wasn't bored and uncomfortable with her it was just that his wings were beginning to become bothersome being stuck in a bundle for a while and he was beginning to want to remove it. But with a small sigh he decided to forget about it, "Ah, forget it." Reaching back velcro straps could be heard being pulled apart and when Jacob removed the last one he removed the "backpack" he had been wearing and spread his angelic wings fully, startling several others at their sudden appearance.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Feb 6, 2014 23:16:43 GMT -5
"Hmm, energy drinks!" Dalton sounded as if she had just remembered they existed, from the way her face lit up. "I should make a mental note to get one of those at some point today. Got to work late." She made a face that held some complicity as it seemed that he, too had a busy life and could probably relate.
"I'm definitely on the second group." She added when he nodded, in a light tone. It was probably a good way to keep the conversation flowing in a friendly manner and she didn't really mind to admit to those little personal things as long as they weren't too personal, as in related to her ex husband and children or even her parents. "Maybe you're even more stubborn than I am." Dalton joked.
Dalton looked confused for a moment when Jacob said it wasn't like that. She wondered what it was, then. She certainly had read what little information the higher ups had been able to give her, but it hadn't been much considering that her mission was mostly to gather such information for future reference. Some reference to him having the ability to flight had been mentioned but she didn't remember wings in the file, so she couldn't have guessed what was about to happen.
When it did, and she was faced with a winged man, one of her eyebrows rose and she blinked. "Whoa, that's definitely something you don't see everyday." Dalton said casually. Clearly, she was one of those people who weren't against mutants. In fact, she was pro mutant and secretly wished she had been born with some sort of powers as well, so the familiar pang of jealousy beat her insides at the sight of his magnificent wings. "It must have been incredibly cramped in there." She thought out loud, feeling a little sympathy for the target. He seemed like an OK guy.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 23:20:59 GMT -5
"I've always been the stubborn type Liz, bad habit I suppose but something I haven't been able to quite break." Jacob said with a chuckle as he folded his wings behind him and looking far more relieved. The conversation with Dalton seemed to going surprisingly well and Jacob had began to notice they really weren't so different. Least so far when it came to habits and certain likes of beverages like coffee, but he couldn't help looking a little amused by her sudden excitement of hearing about energy drinks. From that reaction he figured it had been some time since she had an energy drink of any kind, something of which he found a little funny.
Though her casualness actually made the winged man smile, glad she was one of the few humans who didn't seem freaked out by the wings or seemed to have an issue with it. That was one thing about being a mutant, when you revealed you were one you never knew if a human was a friend or enemy. "No you certainly don't, but it's a necessary evil I have to deal with. Classes and getting around in a crowded city like this isn't exactly wing friendly." Jacob replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he was lucky his wings were even flexible enough they could be put up in a harness or bag like he had. "Only reason I have this bag to begin with, gets kinda difficult sometimes but you learn to live with it."He stated with a shrug. Surely yes it was uncomfortable sometimes but as he said it was needed and sometimes using the skies wasn't an option.
Unfortunately, Jacob had no idea he was giving Dalton most of the information she needed to collect nor that she was there to observe him as a target. He likely never would know unless fate would bring them together again as enemies in this little confrontation of good and evil.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on Apr 28, 2014 22:20:02 GMT -5
Being in the army for too long, she had learned to take care of her body and what she put on it. Coffee was a vice she couldn't get to quit, but at least sugar packed energy drinks were easier to stay away from. Now that she was just another civilian, she had every right to eat whatever, but old habits die hard.
"It can be a bad habit if you let it, but it also can become a motivator as strong as tenacity." She replied with a friendly smile. She was pretty stubborn herself and it had helped her stay on track while others gave up. "It's all about making the most of what you have."
"I'd be surprised if any crowded place was." She joked. Dalton took a long look at Jacob's wings and then looked away. She might have been a straight forward person but she wasn't usually rude. "They're actually quite beautiful." The woman admitted, still half surprised. That kind of gift wasn't one she was used to and it made her feel a pang of envy she suppressed immediately.
"I can only imagine." The tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "I'm not gifted myself, but my ex was. Certainly doesn't make life easier." Despite her efforts to remain calm, her eyes betrayed the pain she felt. "Maybe a larger backpack?" She suggested conversationally, trying to forget all the things she had just remembered.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2014 11:24:37 GMT -5
"Being stubborn has always been a motivator, kind of what drove me to leave London and come to the good ol' United States and start a new life." Jacob told her, trying to keep his good natured tone he had had throughout the conversation but it was obvious there was a sore nerve in that and it showed slightly in a bitter edge and brief flash of anger in his eyes. It was one part of his life Jacob tried to forget and usually tried to not dwell on but being stubborn and having the tenacity to accept what he was had been what got him where he was today. Even if that had meant becoming a Dark Avenger, a villain in most of society's eyes.
But he managed a smile as Dalton spoke again and was about to thank her for the compliment until she spoke of something that seemed to pain her as well. So her ex-husband was a mutant? Well that certainly had to be a painful thing to see, especially when you yourself wished you could have a gift which from what Jacob could see was hard on Dalton. You didn't need to have powers or be a body reader to see that. "Your the first regular human I've come across who'd ever want to really be a mutant Liz, and I'm sorry if this brings up a painful memory for you." Jacob said to her honestly not feeling bad for her and guilty that he may have caused their friendly meeting to have gone south really quick. If it was going to be too painful for her Jacob was willing to hide away his wings so she wouldn't have to at least look at them and maybe have the "out of sight, out of mind" thing going but even then that might not work.
"You know, I once almost wished I was a normal human before. Strangely when my mutation came I thought I really was an angel, my family has always been so religious but they were appalled by what I was and called me a demon possessed by the devil which tore me up pretty bad. Took me a while to accept my gift at all." Jacob told her finally,glancing towards some passersby before looking back at her. Despite how he may come across by some with being evil or being labeled as such because he was a Dark Avenger Jacob did have a soft side and some good in him, he just didn't always show it and this was probably one of the few times anyone would see it.
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Post by Elizabeth Dalton on May 1, 2014 2:23:33 GMT -5
"Are you talking about yourself or just reading my mind?" Dalton asked looking at Sam in shock. What he just said could have described a part of her history, and she didn't know many people with that kind of strange background, but she did know there were some mutants capable of reading minds and even creepier things she wished she could do. When Dalton noticed the subject seemed to be somewhat touchy for Jacob, it was a few seconds later than when most people would have reacted, but she still smiled, as if trying to pass her earlier comment as a joke. "What you just said can pretty much sum up a big part of my life." She added trying to make it about her, so he wouldn't think about him. A part of the soldier wondered if that was the reason she was sent to spy on him... He seemed like a good guy. Why would SHIELD want intel on his movements?
His comment made her chuckle. "I know... I must be crazy." She said about being the only human who wanted to be a mutant. It was all about her enormous ego. She didn't want to be less than others, that's why she got into the army and why she worked so hard to prove that she was as tough as any guy and as competent as any soldier... human or mutant. That's what SHIELD had to offer to her. A huge challenge, one so impossible to accomplish that it would take her whole life to try and fail, but it was a good way to keep herself entertained and her mind off the drama in her personal life. Compared to the rest of it, her ex seemed like an ant compared to the Earth. At least they were on good terms... and they were both alive.
She cast away an invisible fly with her hand and gave him a smile even though her eyes still were somewhat serious. "It's nothing. Dave is a great man and we're on friendly terms. There's just other stuff I wouldn't bore you with." She explained, doing a decent job at appearing carefree. "I just think that there's so much good you can do for other people as a mutant compared to being just a human with good intentions." That was true, but it wasn't all the truth. However, it sounded as if it were. Half-truths were the best lies, people said.
His story made Dalton smile it was a cute thing to think. He sounded like a really innocent and good natured man who had been kind, sensitive and didn't even try to hit on her. What was about him that SHIELD was interested in? What could he possibly hide? If they wanted to hire him, she would be all in favor. "I'm sorry your family didn't accept you as you are... your wings are really beautiful." She spoke her mind, as usually. "If it makes you feel any better, I was no mutant and my mother hated me anyway." Dalton said with a half-smile. It was a bitter smile, but it seemed like water under the bridge by now.
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