Circus of Crime (Hyacinth/Open)

Hyacinth too had been recovering since a few days ago when she had sparred with Barney on the roof. But since then she had been trying to wrap her mind around the kiss that had happened between them, one that had mostly been an accident on her part but at the same time felt nice. And the only way that helped to get her mind clear though was a patrol or terrorizing some humans, leading her to be in and out of the Dark Avengers base for a few days now. She had seen Barney a few times but often missed him or was already on her way elsewhere. Not to mention she didn't know if this meant things would change now since then as she was still not use to these new feelings she was getting when she had started falling for Barney. Of course, she had briefly been angry with him but that had passed and now she was just trying to get her thoughts in order again.

Today though much of her time was spent in the training room since she had recently recovered enough again to start training there rather then the roof, not needing to work on movement exercises like she had. She had just finished in fact when she was stepping out of the elevator and heard Barney calling her name, making her shake her head and have to remind him he didn't need to be so loud. "Barney, I have superhuman hearing, you don't need to be so loud." She chuckled as she came down the hall, swaying her tail slightly and carrying what seemed to be a spear. She stopped beside him then and opened her door, "Now just give me a quick second." She said to him with a smile before she came inside and moved over to rest her spear, which was a more modern all metal one on a wrack above to other kinds of speaks before moving to another weapon wrack, which she had at least two that took up two different walls. Grabbing her favored weapon, being her pair of tonfas, she twisted them and slid them into loops on her belt so they were safely secured before she moved back out to the hall.

Thinking for a moment Hyacinth blushed a little beneath her fur and decided she might as well stop thinking about the whole roof situation and kissed Barney one the lips again, genuinely this time. It was for a moment before she leaned away, "And yes I'll go with you, but thought I should get that out of the way since it's been bothering us so much I'd figure. Least you know it's a genuine thing and not an accident." Though it was obvious Hyacinth was a little shy and awkward still with this whole new situation, merely smiling meekly before she quickly headed to the elevator.

"Well if you ever keep forgetting I'll gladly remind you," Hyacinth chuckled slightly, knowing she could remember her teammates quite easily. Despite the fact she was not particularly close to the others except Barney that didn't mean she was clueless to what they could do and to be certain she could be of use with their skills and her own when needed. Even a warrior like her needed back up once in a while, that was perhaps one thing her parents ever made an exception to that and taught her this. Still, she much preferred to fight alone but she might even make more of an exception with how close her and Barney were becoming and it seemed she could be wrong about him after all.

A smile came to her face as they waited for the elevator, having not been so sure herself of giving him the kiss but it seemed to be the one thing to clear any doubt he might of had. "Trust me I wasn't even sure I should have done that right there Barney but with the possible doubt whirling around I thought it might clear the air a little." She said, glancing at him when he spoke of being jealous of his brother. "Well for me Barney, I'm glad your not your brother because he seems too heroic for my taste. You on the other hand aren't like that so I think your right up my alley," She assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder slightly to enforce this assurance. She had seen some news reports about Barney's brother Clinton and she wasn't impressed, not even to the point of ever considering him a possible mate when it came to her culture. No, the archer beside her seemed more then enough and perhaps one day if things played right between them their relationship might slowly get stronger.

Glancing at the elevator as it opened she stepped inside with the archer and listened, "Sounds like a plan to me. They seem to be trekking on our turf so it's only reasonable to chase them out." She said before looking at him. "Though explain to me, what exactly is the purpose of a circus?" She asked, not quite familiar with it herself since they never had that where she was from.

"Well I'd rather a Dark Avenger who isn't such a heroic airhead like your brother Barney, so I think that choice was rather obvious from the beginning." Hyacinth told him as she looked at him. She hadn't been impressed with the younger of the Barton brothers and even his son seemed like he was no different from his father, so her choice was pretty obvious. And it was obvious she was a hard woman to impress or even gain trust with and Barney managed that much, compared to most she rarely trusted anyone but so far this archer had proven to be rather trustworthy.

Listening to his explanation Hyacinth found it interesting how much different forms of entertainment Earth had and just what humans could do. But this certainly explained where Barney got his own skills, likely not in archery but his movements as well and as he spoke of it the circus seemed quite the place she'd excel in and attract customers. But she wouldn't resort to something like that of course. "I think I could put half those people to shame my dear archer, acrobatics is what I do best. Heck, I could easily make contortionists look like amateurs thanks to my physiology. After all cats are quick and flexible, which makes my people quite a challenge to fight as you learned the other day." She said with quite a bit of pride. She had confidence in her skills and knew she could easily beat or be equal footing to an Olympic athlete as they were called there. Although, if the Shi'ar empire had something like a circus she never had seen it which came from the fact she had left long before she could know much about a real civilization other then her tribal life.

"Don't worry about Barney, I know how you feel about bad memories. Sometimes it's better to take it out and release that than keep it bottled up." Hyacinth said with assurance, knowing it had to be difficult to hear something like that when it came to your past.

Hyacinth herself hadn't been known to have very many friends either, even before she crash landed on Earth when she was on the run. She had been part of a pirate crew who rebelled against the Shi'ar Empire's rule back in their long range ruing of several planets, Hyacinth's included. But none of them had been remotely close to being friends only temporary allies who were by now dead, in the mining pits, or jailed somewhere. She just happened to be lucky to get away thanks to the manifestation of her powers and using her flames which had surprised the Royal Guard. It could almost be the same here on Earth to a degree but she seemed to be forming a closer alliance with the Dark Avengers in a long term thing then just something short and temporary. She knew this was the case with the archer beside her. "Yes, such a shame when someone falls to the good side of the conflict and there's sometimes no turning them back to the previous path. It's even worse when you hear about it being for love or something mushy like that." She said.

Though she chuckled at his tease and glanced at Barney, "Something tells me I've barely scratched to surface of your own skills archer. If you were trained in the circus then no doubt you have some potential for acrobatic feats of your own that might make us quite the duo." She flirted, becoming aware he was starting to flirt with her even if he might not be aware of it himself and she herself began to return the favor. And she was quite looking forward to giving a "performance" to their audience when in reality they were really getting a beat down of their lives. Hyacinth couldn't remember the last time she really had been able to go all out in using her powers and her own physical prowess to begin with. Not in a long while she knew that much.

"Motorcycle it is, otherwise we'd be taking far long the way I prefer." Hyacinth told him as she much preferred to move around on her own feet, sometimes even on all fours like a real cat. But today they were in a hurry and they'd take a few hours just to get around on foot compared to cutting that time in half on a motorcycle so she smiled at him and began heading outside. "Maybe we'll even catch these guys in the middle of one of their shows, make it even more humiliating. Besides if it's a performance they want it's a performance they'll get." She said with a coy grin, looking quite excited at the prospect of ruining a show and replacing it with one no doubt Barney would likely enjoy. After all this time he'd be one of the stars and controlling things instead of the ring master and all his little cronies under the big top who usually took advantage of the people within the Circus of Crime.

"Driving it is then," Hyacinth said with a smile as she joined the archer on the back of his motorcycle, putting on the second helmet before they headed off. And not surprisingly they made it much faster by vehicle then they would have on foot. If they had done that the feline woman had no doubt they'd likely still be trying to find the quickest ways to get there without being slowed down by the constant crowds of New York City. She was just fine in taking Barney's motorcycle and looked over once they arrived a little while later. So, that was a "big top" or the main showing of the circus. It certainly was obnoxiously colorful and Hyacinth really couldn't see why anyone would want to ever work for a circus but at the same time she knew Barney might have had no choice at the time when he was much younger. Certainly no different from her when she had felt like she had little choice but to become a rebel against the tyrannical Shi'ar.

"I think I see one reason you'd want to leave, this colorfulness is making me shudder. I can hardly imagine what their shows are like." Hyacinth said with distaste as she removed the helmet and stood up, using her fingers to brush back her hair a bit and some wandering strands before setting the helmet down and showing a grin of her own. "Sneaking in sounds like a fine idea my dear archer, let's see if you can be as sneaky as this feline." She said with a wink before slipping around some cars that were already parked, no doubt being crowds who were there to see this circus. But of course they wouldn't be seeing this show the Ringmaster likely had in store. Today they would see a much different show, one involving some real sabotage and a duo who could show them true skill. The thought made her flick her tail in excitement as Hyacinth made her way with Barney around the tent to avoid the line and the ticket booth.

That was when one of the many hands who helped to take care of the place surprised even the feline alien woman, Hyacinth having been concentrating on finding the perfect spot to steal the show. "Hey! What are you two doing here?! This is for performers only!" The man said, being perhaps in his mid-forties and looking quite annoyed at someone trying to sneak in. "Oh, I'm sorry sir but we were just wanting to see the show and maybe show our own skills. Me and my archer friend here are excellent acrobats and we have some other skills you and your performers might like." Hyacinth said, looking sickeningly innocent that even the man gave the two a long look, seeming to be deciding to believe them or not. When he still seemed unconvinced Hyacinth reluctantly decided she had to pour on the charm. "Please sir? My friend and I just want to see the show, we won't cause any problems. Surely a handsome fellow like you wouldn't ruin two young would-be performers' dreams would you? Especially not a young gal like me?" Hyacinth said still in a rather sweet, innocent way and being slightly flirtatious with the man who tried not to give in but her pleading, batting eyes finally seemed to win him over.

"Very well, you can watch from the back entrance but it better stay between us you two. I just got this job I ain't losing it for some punks, especially when a pretty young girl bats her eyes." The man said, slightly annoyed but Hyacinth could hear the waver in his voice knowing her charm had worked and could almost see a gleam of hope in the older man's eyes. But he seemed to scurry off quickly which caused Hyacinth to smirk, "It's all about the charm, nine times out of ten it never fails." She mused as she looked back at Barney before leading him over to where the man had indicated, hearing the Ring Master's voice ring out the show would be starting soon. "Well, I think it's time the new Trickshot had his moment of fame, don't you think Barton?" She asked, looking at Barney with an excited and slightly mischievous grin.

Hyacinth couldn't help giving Barney a look, hearing his warning that she would have shrugged off if it had been a complete joke. But there was a slight look of annoyance that he'd think she'd pull that on him when she didn't do it quite that often so it somewhat pushed one button that she'd have to make quite clear with Barney later of not jumping to conclusions. After all he was just flirting with her not that long ago so he was one to talk. "You know your one to talk archer, I do recall you were the one that began the flirting earlier." She reminded him casually as she saw him readying his bow and waited when the explosion went off and snuck around towards the high flying performers who were obviously prepared to get back at Trickshot for what he just did.

"Well ain't that just low, stealing from nice people when they're least expecting it. Honestly, what happened to good old fashioned break and stealing." She said as she climbed the ladder, being able to hear Barney clearly as he introduced her and told her what these goons did. She didn't quite mind the villain part since that's what the Dark Avengers were made up from the beginning but she found it tasteless in the way they did it through performances. "Allow me to show you a little trick of my own boys." Hyacinth said as she used the swing to come off the platform, swinging towards the middle as one of the performers had a blaster ready but his yell rang out as Hyacinth easily leapt and kicked the man off the seat to the net below. She easily gripped the strong wood and swung herself towards the opposite platform, flames covering her hands as she punched and burned a few before flipping backwards as the swing retuned near enough she grabbed hold of it with her hands.

Once again she demonstrated her acrobatic prowess, holding the hand stand she flipped into before lifting one hand to fire several fireballs to some of the performers below. And not much to her surprise they began scattering to avoid the rain of fireballs she cast towards them.

Hyacinth though easily dodged around in the air, finishing off the last of the aerial performers before she dropped to the net and then to the ground where she was met by several of the staff there. Just with a quick once over she could see she would be facing quite the odds which she didn't really mind, having come to find large numbers to be a challenge and quite the work out in her travels before she crash landed there on Earth. This time would be no different. Reaching back she brought out her Ronda's and activated the blades just as the performers rushed her and the alien feline growled as she began going blow for blow with the circus staff, ducking around strikes or parrying them with her weapons. Sometimes though she had to endure a blow, even a slash or two from a knife but she always slashed back with her own blades. Within the skirmish some of them fell dead to the floor and she only contined fighting until she cleared a path towards the steps with seeing some we're heading towards Barney which she worried about might have trouble.

But just as she was fighting her way along the seats, proving to have quicker balance and reaction time on the precarious backs she was confident she could get to Barney in no time who was so far holding his own. But as she saw the Trickmaster coming to the archer she began to fear he might not do so good this time as this man seemed to be the main brains and leader of the Circus of Crime. Her distraction though allowed one of the security to fire a beam from his weapon sending her flying over the seats and hitting the tents side with a slight growl before she landed on the stands, groaning as she shook her head and looked up to see the dust that was blown Barney's way. And just like that he was no longer himself not even on her side, his arrows were now aimed at her and she barely dodged two of them which made her quite concerned but mostly angered at the way Trickmastrt dealt with his enemies. The man was nothing more than a coward! Her blood boiled at this as her transparent flames became a crimson red and she snarled as she lunged towards some of his works, blasting them away with streams of flames that severely burned them and caused them to yell out before backing off. "You'll pay for this Trickmaster, I swear you'll feel my claws before tonight's end." She swore for all to hear before she looked towards Barney as her flames for now died down.

"Forgive me my dear archer, but I have to be hard on you." Hyacinth murmured as she lunged forward and began striking with her tonfas at Barney, trying to back him towards some stairs while he wasn't paying attention. She hoped if she could keep him distracted his fall might snap him out of it or give her enough time to give him some way to focus on being himself again.