ax_main | Bucky, Cal, & Clint (Backdated to March)

Bucky meets Cal and Clint, and discovers that not all of the dogs on campus are pets.

Buttercup was a tiny dog, and she was used to living in the city, confined to walks on a close leash. With the way the grounds were laid out here Bucky thought he might let her off the lead. It wasn’t like she’d run away and get lost. He was faster than those tiny legs. Bucky headed outside with the mutt tucked under his arm. He was prepared to let her run once they reached the lawn. Hm. But it looked like someone was already out here with three pups running free.

Bucky noticed the marred eye and took a guess which dog that was. He headed toward the guy hanging out with them. “You wouldn’t happen to be Clint, would you?”

Cal was in his gray wolf-dog form, and playing around with Abs and Lucky, when he noticed the figure approach. With a tiny dog in his arms. Incoming, he thought at Clint, and nipped at Abs's shoulder before trotting off to go sniff up the new guy. Bucky, he figured? Just because he didn't comment on those journals didn't mean he didn't read them.

Clint glanced up at Cal's warning a few seconds before the other guy called out to him, and he had a chance to slowly realize that Cal wasn't going to change back right away. Which...didn't really surprise him. So he nodded at the dark-haired teen and raised a hand to give a welcoming wave. "Yeah, that's me. Don't mind the dogs - they're super friendly."

He knelt down to offer his right hand to Cal to sniff. He was getting used to walking around without gloves, after months hiding the other arm. Seemed pointless in a place filled with technopaths and physical mutations.

“Are they okay with smaller dogs?” Bucky asked.

Buttercup leaned forward curiously, tail thumping against Bucky’s side, but she was too well behaved to squirm down.

Cal played the part dutifully, sniffing at Bucky's hand. Then he barked a friendly greeting up at the tiny dog, and ran off a couple of yards, just in case the guy decided to try petting him.

Clint watched all of this with mild bemusement, both at the tiny dog's reaction, and at Cal's playful, yet distrusting games. "Yeah," he answered with a smile, and a little scruff at Lucky's head before allowing his own dog to go greet the strangers. "They're good. They're actually kind of protective of other animals - you got me why - but they won't hurt her. What's your name again?"

“Bucky. Nice to meet you.” He sat down on the grass and set Buttercup down. This way he was at level if the other two dogs wanted to come over, and close enough that she could jump into his lap if she decided she’d had enough. Buttercup stuck close to Bucky’s side for a moment, looking up. “It’s okay,” Bucky confirmed, rubbing her head. “Off duty.” Lucky was close enough at this point that Buttercup finally herded close to his heels and started circling.

“Are all three yours?” Bucky asked. “They are going to get big.”

Cal sat back on his haunches a couple of yards off, watching as Abs sniffed the tiny dog, then poked her nose into its side. He wondered what the dog's name was, but not enough to ask Clint to ask. They'd get around to it eventually, he was sure.

"Uh, noooo...." Clint drew out the word, glancing briefly over at Cal. Right. He could figure this out. He dropped to sit on the grass near Bucky. "Uh, Lucky's mine. The other two are...you know, other residents that like to hang out. Hey, did I see you mention something about Buttercup being a support dog?"

Bucky’s smile was fond but there was a reluctance in his eyes as he nodded. “Yeah. One of Stark’s wild ideas.”

You're a terrible liar, Cal thought at Clint with amusement, in the wake of that 'resident' comment. And right, okay, Buttercup. Ridiculous name. No wonder it hadn't stuck with him.

Am not. Besides, it's your fault. Clint's lips twitched. "Lucky's been great for me. I mean, I don't know why she needs it or anything. Didn't want to pry."

“It’s fine,” Bucky with a shrug. “I won’t talk about Natasha’s personal business, but between you and me it’s likely she knew I’d end up taking care of Buttercup most of the time. When I sleep it’s sometime’s a shit show. Buttercup showed up not too long after a bad night.”

Cal frowned slightly at that. That sounded familiar - the shit show nights did, anyway. And that made him feel shitty about tricking the guy like this, if he was anything like them.

Buttercup had come closer, but Cal stood up before she reached him, and trotted over to Clint. He sat beside him and leaned into his side. Kinda feel like an asshole now.

Clint scruffed Cal's fur without thinking about it, but nodded slowly at Bucky. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I got 'em too. A few of us do. Some of the kids here were rescued from a place that was experimenting on us, training us into weapons."

“The Right?” Bucky asked. His tone was calm, but there must be something in his body language, because Buttercup gave Abs a parting nip and then ran to jump into Bucky’s lap. She ducked down like she was hiding, watching Lucky and Abs over his leg.

Cal really had been considering shifting back, but that all went out the window with Clint's hand on him, even more so when the two of them started discussing the Right. He went from quietly admirative that Clint could bring it up this casually to wary as fuck when Bucky said their name. He didn't know why, but here he went anyway. So he focused on Clint's touch, and on making sure his shields were tight.

Like Cal, Clint tensed when the other guy brought them up. He shouldn't have - the public knew about them now, and it was kind of a big thing, but it still felt... wrong. He watched Bucky quietly, then gave a slight nod. "Yeah, them."

“Sorry,” Bucky said, empathizing with the reaction more than he could say. “I never crossed paths with them, but I get it.” He watched both Clint and the dog tense, even if momentarily, and wondered exactly what he was missing here.

Feeling Clint tense was all Cal needed to ignore his own tension and focus on his friend. He turned his head into his side with a low whine, nosing at him.

Clint breathed out and glanced down at Cal with a sigh. "Sorry." Then he looked back up at Bucky. "Is that how you got the arm? Someone like them?"

Cal nosed at Clint's side again at that apology. Don't be. Then he focused back on Bucky, too.

Bucky flexed his metal fingers. “The model before this one, yeah. I hate that the same shit keeps happening. There will always be sick fucks out there that think they know what the world needs.” Despite the somber topic a wry smile tugged the corner of Bucky’s lips. “I had a friend. If they were here now I’m pretty sure they’d say ‘then do something about it, Buck’. We don’t all come out heroes.”

"That sounds familiar," Clint offered wryly. "Where's your friend now?"

Bucky’s settled his hand in Buttercup’s fur. His tone softened with a wry affection that came from swallowing down too many bitter truths since waking. “Long gone. Doing the right thing.”

Cal flattened himself on the ground, resting his head on his front paws as he watched Bucky. He was going back and forth on this whole feeling like an asshole thing, but the needle had swung back fully towards 'asshole' with this one.

“Oh,” Clint watched Cal press himself to the ground and reached out to stroke his fur down. “That sucks. Sorry.”

Another shrug. It wasn’t callous, but what else could he do?

“We’re surrounded by puppies right now. That’s supposed to offset the somber, isn’t it?” Bucky smiled wryly. “It’s a good entourage.”

Cal closed his eyes for just a second as Clint started petting him, then opened them again to look at Bucky thoughtfully. He was still attempting to size him up, while enjoying the comfort Clint was offering him. The thing was, Cal liked Bucky so far, in an empathetic way he wasn't all that used to. That in itself led to conflicting feelings.

Clint's fingers sliding through his fur, at least, were simple. That much, he could trust.

"Uh," Clint said, his smile twitching slightly at the new kid. He wasn't quite sure what onturaj meant but he'd look it up later. He was still wondering a little why Cal hadn't revealed himself, but that wasn't really his choice to question, right? "Sure. What you said. That's how I got Luck in the first place anyway. Was trying to cheer up a friend, you know, took him to show him some pups I'd found on a nearby farm."

“And you ended up taking them all home?” Bucky asked. He continued petting Buttercup, and she settled her head on his thigh, peering up at Clint and the other dogs between sleepy blinks.

That, at least, was a good memory, and hearing Clint tell it in these circumstances was kind of amusing. Cal still had no intention of going anywhere, when lying here right up against Clint, with his hand on Cal, felt so comfortable. Shifting back would mean having to navigate human social codes and standards again, and this was entirely better.

He hoped those other puppies had found a good home in the end, though. We should check in with the shelter some time soon, he thought at Clint.

"Just the two at first," Clint told him. "Lucky was...was really hurt. Something had happened to him, and he was dying. We managed to bring him here to get healed, though he lost the eye. Abs followed us through the portal we took, because she has a fascination with them. The others we went back for later and took to a nearby shelter."

He glanced briefly at Cal, thinking, Was there last week. They were all scooped up.

Bucky gestured to Cal. “Where’d this guy come from?”

Cal let out a huff of breath that could absolutely be read as a sigh, and pushed up into a sitting position. Tell him not to freak out? He didn't want Clint to have to lie too much.

Clint's gaze flicked to Cal with a wary frown. Uh. You sure about that, buddy? I can lie. I mean I suck at it, sure, but I can...

Yeah, I'm sure, Cal confirmed. He didn't feel all that certain over the telepathic link, but Bucky would find out eventually. So it was better if he found out from Cal, and sooner rather than later. If he was going to be pissed, he'd be less pissed now than later. Right? Right. Sure.

"So, about that," Clint looked up at Bucky, giving him an apologetic grin. "Don't freak out, okay? He's uh, kind of not always a dog."

And with that, Cal shifted back into his human self, a suntanned boy with spiky blond hair, in jeans and a sweater, sitting right beside Clint. "Hey," he said with an apologetic wince. "Sorry about that. I wasn't sure I wanted to shift back." He petted Abs when she came over to welcome him back to this shape.

It was probably for the best that they warned Bucky first. It was still surprising to watch the boy appear where the dog once was. Instead of jumping, Bucky’s hand stilled where it was buried in Buttercup’s fur.

“Huh,” he remarked.

"Cal can mimic other powers," Clint explained, crossing his arms over his knees. "And he's got a shapeshifter on tap."

"And - California," Cal finished, watching Bucky with raised eyebrows and wondering what the shocked reaction would lead to. "I'm from California." He didn't think to move away from Clint, staying right by his side.

That was one hefty power. Seeing how Cal was hiding as a dog moments before, Bucky wasn’t about to ask any questions about it. The kid very quickly went from adorable puppy to potential dangerous weapon. “Nice to meet you Cal,” Bucky said instead.

"You too," Cal answered with a nod. That was... a bit of a non-reaction. Not the best, but also, definitely, by far, not the worst.

"Do you have powers?" Clint asked curiously. "I know you came in with the other girl, but no one said. I mean, not prying or anything, but there's the arm and all."

“The arm’s tech, not powers,” Bucky explained. He looked curiously at Cal. “If you copy powers, can you suss that one out? I don’t care if you share with the class.” He nodded toward Clint.

"You want me to mimic you?" Cal had to ask, watching Bucky curiously. "I'm not going to blow us all up if I fuck it up, am I?"

Good to know how that worked. “If you have to mimic first sure. As far as I know it won’t blow shit up, unless that’s some latent ability I haven’t seen yet.”

Cal would take the chance; it wasn't all that likely he'd stumble across something like that if Bucky hadn't yet. He reached for the guy's mutation, and let out a low, impressed whistle at the feeling of renewed energy that coursed through him. He rolled his shoulders, opened and closed his fist, and focused for a moment on his new awareness of their surroundings. His perception hadn't changed, but he felt more prepared for it, somehow. "Your usual 'super' package, huh?" he asked, looking back at Bucky.

“Borrowed something like this before?” He asked, unsurprised. “People used to love the word super soldier. Faster, stronger, harder to kill.” Bucky gave a thumbs up with the metal arm. “But not so resilient that shit grows back.”

"Supersoldier?" Clint asked, eyebrows going up. "Like those old shows about Captain America?"

Bucky felt his chest go tight. "Yeah. Like that. He's a good example. Way more relatable than some Nietzsche philosophy stuff."

Cal didn't even notice he was leaning his shoulder against Clint's as he kept focusing on the changes in his awareness - and his physiology. He closed and opened his fists a few more time, breathing through the sensations. It was... kind of a high, compared to a baseline physiology, and he only realized he'd been letting it all distract him from his shields when he felt a pinprick of grief get through, coming from Bucky. He looked over at him, briefly considered digging further, then reluctantly dropped Bucky's mutation so he could focus on building his shields back up. "Relatable isn't the first word that comes to mind when it comes to philosophy," he distractedly agreed.

Clint slowly seemed to realize that Cal was literally leaning on him, and it took everything in him not to turn his head and stare at his friend. Was this a holdover from being a dog, or was he just weirded out by Bucky? Instead, he tried to focus on the conversation, which had somehow flown right past him. Philosophy what? "Uh, yeah," he added, because what was he supposed to say? He didn't even know what a neechee was.

Bucky tipped his head at Cal. "If you keep what you borrow and you ever want to join the pre-dawn run some weekend it seems like we have a handful of endurance runners. I've been trying to see how much it takes to leave T'Challa winded."

Cal frowned a little, but it was out of surprise and a little confusion more than anything else. He'd take some time to figure out how he felt about the prospect later. "Maybe," he said, for now, and straightened up. "Pre-dawn, huh?"

"I don't get a lot of sleep. I mean... on a weekend we can probably start at noon, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with gawkers. How about you?" He directed the last bit to Clint. "What's your bag of tricks?"

"I'm gorgeous, and humble, and can eat ten hot dogs a sitting," Clint grinned at him.

"I've seen him do it," Cal confirmed with a half-smile.

Bucky smiled. Any somber feelings shifted as he gave Clint a playful, appraising look. "Yeah, I can see that."

Clint smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not much of a mutant anymore. Lost half of my powers and can't access the rest. Cal pulls from me when he needs to."

Cal didn't know where the weird thing twisting his stomach on itself at the obvious flirting came from, and he didn't like it one bit. He shoved it aside, but disliked his relief that Clint didn't flirt back just as much. He stayed quiet for now, just trying to get his head on straight.

"You make it sound like Cal's a vampire. Pulls from you?"

Clint shrugged. "One of the things I used to be able to do - I could heal. Real fast. Now I can't heal like that anymore, but when Cal mimics my power, he can." Which was really fucking good, since Cal would have died otherwise.

Cal wasn't sure that this topic was an improvement on the flirting, all in all, and he shifted a little, stopped himself, and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck instead. "Just means your healing is still there."

"This seems like the place to be for recharging," Bucky remarked. He was curious, if Clint's powers kicked back in would healing go with longevity? "Professor does a good job helping kids explore their powers. In a less creepy fashion."

"Maybe," Clint agreed thoughtfully. "I didn't really trust the guy when we first got here, but I have to admit, aside from the weird strike team they've got going on, and the holo room, the rest of the place is pretty relaxing."

"Xavier's... he helps," Cal settled on, when trying to put words on the old guy. They'd had their ups and downs, for sure. But they'd gotten back to a place of trust, some time over the summer, with some help from Sampson. Still, it was difficult to put words on it all, the way Xavier was at once telepathic teacher, shrink and, if Cal was honest, father figure to him, in some ways. The latter was most of why Cal still struggled with it all. "He's been - helping."

“Yeah. About that strike team,” Bucky said wryly. “What’s your take? I got the wholesome sales pitch, but I think you know where the head might go with that kind of thing.”

Clint shrugged and glanced at Cal for help on that one. "I mean, it's not like they're out there waging war or anything. They rescued some kids from the facilities we were in. So, you know, that was good."

"They rescued us, before that," Cal added, and resisted the urge to rub at his neck. "They haven't really - done anything else?" he ventured, glancing at Clint in case he knew something Cal didn't. Not being all that active was probably a good thing.

“That’s a good reason to train kids then, I guess,” Bucky said thoughtfully. “Rescues. Alright.” He didn’t trust it completely, but how could he? There would always be suspicion when kids were involved.

"What about you?" Clint asked curiously. "How'd you uh, end up with that girl?"

"She found me," Bucky answered. "I was pretty fucking out of it at the time and she helped me get back on my feet. Stark's a soft touch... but never tell her I said that." He grinned. "It's also possible she's just stubborn as fuck, and there is certainly a challenge when it comes to fitting me into her life."

"She sounds like good people," Cal remarked.

"Yeah but...found you where?" Clint asked curiously. "Like, in one of those facilities?"

Bucky rubbed Buttercup’s head, taking the moment before replying. “I haven’t been in a facility in a while. I got misplaced.”

Cal exchanged a look with Clint, because how the fuck did you misplace someone? He looked back at Bucky and echoed, "Misplaced?"

He opened his mouth. Instead of unpacking that sentence he ended up sighing a soft breath. “It’s complicated. Sorry.” Bucky smiled wryly. “It’s hard to get into?”

"Right," Clint agreed, understanding. "Not the time."

"No worries," Cal agreed easily. He appreciated people not pushing him to share; he certainly wasn't going to push anyone else. He rolled his shoulders, then nodded at Buttercup. "She ever really play with other dogs?"

"Not too often, but I suspect that'll change now." He gave Buttercup another head rub. "How many of the pets around here are likely to turn out to be students? Do you have that cornered, or should I tread carefully?"

Clint glanced at Cal. "Well, there's Cal, and Loki. Loki's usually wandering around as a cat, but he can do pretty much anything. I don't know how much Teddy does that kind of thing? He's a shapeshifter. Watch out for the two wolf girls. Actual werewolves. Kind of a handful. Oh, and I think there's another werewolf too, but I don't see him much." Sue him, Clint had made a study of the student body, even if he acted like a moron. "The tiger boy is gone, anyway."

"And the green animal kid, too," Cal completed. Although the green had kind of given it away with most of his forms. "So it's pretty much me and Loki you gotta watch out for."

“Alright, so don’t trust cats, and introduce myself before trying to pet any animals. Gotcha.” His lips quirked. “Good power.”

"It is," Cal confirmed genuinely, assuming Bucky meant Loki's. He was so thankful for his mutation, on so many levels. But he wasn't going to get into that with a new guy. So instead, he stuck to basics, what everyone would assume about what that power was good for. "I mean, flying is awesome."

"They're both lucky ducks," Clint agreed with a grin.

“Flying is pretty awesome. Noticed we have a few people that can around here.” Bucky smiled. “I wouldn’t trade, but I’d definitely want that upgrade.”

"I know Ororo takes people up sometimes, if you want a taste," Cal suggested. He knew he was welcome to mimic her whenever he liked, but the thought of letting Bucky into his space didn't feel right, so, yeah, no. Ororo it was. "She uses the winds."

"It's different with another person, though," Clint sighed. "I'd want my own wings. Best I can get is tall buildings. Or, hey, maybe I can fly a plane some day. That'd be fun as hell."

“Plane or motorcycle, sounds like a great idea.” Bucky’s was back to even keel and he released Buttercup from his lap. “Does this Ororo mind strangers requesting joy rides? I feel like maybe introductions might be necessary first.”

"Might be a good first step," Cal agreed with a half smile, toying with the idea of shifting back.

"You can't miss her," Clint told him, scruffing Lucky's ear. "She's the one with the white mohawk."

“I’ll keep my eye out.” Technically Natasha could take him up with the suit. Bucky wasn’t exactly jumping for her to sweep him off like that.

"I'm gonna shift back for a bit," Cal let them know with a small smile. "It was good to meet you, Bucky." Not that he'd be going anywhere, just running around with Abs, but conversation would be limited.

Clint nodded, kind of unsurprised about that, but shot a grin at Bucky. "Anyway, you're welcome to hang out. I was gonna let them play and work on my tan."

"Thanks." He leaned back, returning their smiles. "I'll join you for the sunbathing. Let Buttercup get used to having so many other dogs around."

Cal brought two fingers to his temple in a salute, then shifted back into his wolf dog form and nipped at Abs before darting off for her to chase him.