Clint, Natasha, and Philip, Saturday Afternoon

[om_hawkeye]

Clint and Natasha try one of Coulson's new training scenarios in the Danger Room. They aren't yet the best team in the world, but they're learning. Especially learning that Philip is both sneaky, and a badass.

The forest around Clint was new. With big, broad oaks stretching high up into the holographic sky, and the moving shadows of branches in the artificial wind, he could have been in a state park somewhere, drinking in his fill of nature, feeling the sunlight track across his skin. It wasn't quite as nice as that, inside the DR - there was only so much that the amazing technology could replicate - but it was close. The trees themselves hid climbing poles. The huge, mounding mossy rocks were raised, textured platforms. When you got to the edges of the room, the hologram seemed to turn in on itself, routing you back into the enormous room as if you'd continued on in another direction. If he hadn't been able to spot the patterns in the scenery, and the subtle mirror images shifting back and forth, Clint might have been fooled. Instead, he was just impressed.

Of course. He could be impressed some other time. Some time, when he wasn't sprinting through the trees toward Coulson's retreating back, pumping his arms as he tried to catch the older teen. A few yards away, he could see Natasha out of the corner of his eye, closing in from another direction - both of them locked on to the futuristic device strapped onto Coulson's thigh.

Philip had explained when they'd all met up for their first joint session in the room. It was a new scenario he was testing out. A spy's version of capture the flag. The first person to get the transponder away from Coulson and disable the device was the winner...and while it involved chasing, Clint knew it would also involve some sparring too. For one thing, because it was Coulson's job to keep the device away from them as long as he could. And the other two...well, there were no rules about taking out their competition. Three-way tag, only taken up a notch and set in a holographic war games gymnasium. It was awesome.

Natasha moved rapidly, but nearly silently, though the woods this room had conjured for them. Something about the environment felt just slightly off, not quite real. Still, it all was very close to the real thing. The school, no matter the bits that confused her or made her wary, was certainly impressive in many ways.

She cut swiftly around a tree, moving ever closer to Philip Coulson. There was no way to get the object from him without his knowledge, which meant she would have to take it by force. All while, of course, fending off Clint. He was bigger than her, but she had faith in her own skills.

Natasha waited until Clint had gotten a little closer, hopefully just enough closer to distract her prey, before speeding up to make her move.

Philip had some time to prepare, otherwise he certainly wouldn't just be waiting out there in the open. There were traps strung through the woods, tripwires, deadfalls, anything that he could reasonable have set up in the amount of time the exercise had allotted. Of course, he knew where they all were. The other two... not so much.

Clint caught sight of the first trip wire when he was almost close enough to touch Coulson, forced to redirect his route between two trees, features reflecting humor as he leaped a holographic stump.

"You went to a hell of a lot of trouble!" he called, realizing that Philip must have coded all of it in. He hadn't even realized the room could use trip wires...but if it could do that, then it could do other things too...

As Clint and Philip slowed, so too did Natasha. More because Philip had, admittedly. Slowing meant he was protected. It would be foolish to keep going without knowing what those protections were. She looked around from her hiding place, spotting two trip wires as she did so. Of course, that did not mean she'd seen them all; Natasha knew she would need to be cautious.

Maybe Clint would be impulsive enough to move first.

Philip didn't answer, he just smirked a little as he kept an eye out. The idea was to get them at least slowed down some before they could get to him, anything hampering was a bonus.

Clint...was impulsive. Besides, if he kept an eye out for the shine of the wires in the dim, forest lighting, he'd be fine. It was Natasha he had to worry about, hanging back, waiting for her chance. Clint knew he had to make a move, and he took it, leaping up to grab a tree-branch (slash-horizontal-bar), pumping momentum to execute a backflip over the trip wires, landing in Philip's path, crouching to swing a leg wide to catch his friend's legs out from under him.

Only for some reason, the ground gave way beneath him, and he ended up clawing and scrambling as he went ass over tea-kettle through a trapping pit programmed into the floor.

The way Clint had moved, aside from demonstrating his skills, also gave Natasha some clue as to what traps he had seen. She noted which areas he had avoided, so she could avoid them, too. She just had to plan a route that didn't take her over those areas, or the large pit he'd fallen into.

Another moment, and Natasha took her chance, moving rapidly around the well-hidden tripwires and Clint's pit towards Philip.

THere were a few other hazards set up, including the well disguised snare trap that was directly in Natasha's way. He wasn't worried about Clint, there was enough padding built into the room that it wouldn't really be a problem. It'd teach him to watch his feet a little more too. Philip stayed put for a little while more, still playing bait.

Before Natasha could reach the snare, however, a hand shot out of the pit, and Clint was halfway out on his stomach, calloused fingers wrapped around her calf to yank her off her feet. No way was she winning that easy.

When she felt fingers around her ankle, Natasha kicked back. There was a trip wire in front of her, and she reached for it. If she triggered it, it might give her something to cling on to so she could avoid falling into the pit.

Well that was certainly interesting strategy, Philip thought and he took the moment of distraction to step back into the trees, out of immediate sight.

"Ow, fuck," Clint complained when Natasha's foot boxed him in the ear. Then he was attempting to haul her down, using her body for leverage to haul himself back out of the pit. "Thanks for the assist!"

"Remember when you told me I could've really put you down," she grumbled. The tripwire fired, and she grabbed onto it. Natasha kicked back at him again, hoping to knock him off so that she could climb out more easily. "It's not too late to test that statement."

It was a really good thing they were both concentrating on each other and not him, Philip thought. The amused smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth had gotten entirely out of his control.

But Clint had been kicked in the face far too often for her struggles to deter him, and he was scrappy. He finally wrangled his way out of the pit, hopping back out of her reach with a playful grin. "Well. You can try..."

"That implies I'll fail." She clamored to her feet, and released the tripwire, so it would spring back towards him. Natasha kept her eyes on Clint, but she was also on the lookout for Philip, who had vanished in the melee. If he was smart, and he was, he wouldn't have gone far. She just had to figure out which direction he'd slinked off towards.

Honestly... Though it was good to see them playing at it, Philip was pretty sure that neither Clint or Natasha had a whole lot of experience with the idea of play for the sake of it. He took another step back, making a deliberate rustle as he did.

Clint caught the movement of the trip wire just in time, dodging back, then waggling his brows at her as he heard Coulson start to get restless. Either that or he just wanted to see what they'd do. No way he'd make that noise for any other reason. With a flash of a grin, he turned his attention to the field between himself and where he'd heard the sound come from. Better not to go running into that mine field again so soon...

Natasha took advantage of Clint's moment of hesitation, and this time made the first move. She sprung up, moving from tree to tree, where there were less (though certainly not no) traps to slow her down. She moved from branch to branch fluidly, even as her sharp eyes focused on the environment around her to avoid a pitfall.

There was another tiny clearing not far away, just enough for a few people to gather where Philip was waiting. He could have drug out cat and mouse for a lot longer, but this was more about evaluating than any cutthroat games. From the sounds, Natasha had picked up speed. They were both quiet but she still had lighter feet, being quite a bit smaller.

While Philip was occupied concentrating on what Natasha was doing, Clint had picked out his path, moving around to flank his friend, keeping to the shade of the trees and rolling his feet like Coulson had taught him to stay quiet. This face-to-face stuff wasn't his forte. He'd prefer to be up in one of the trees with his bow. Still, he made the most of it, unwilling to let Natasha win right out of the gate.

Natasha launched herself into a nearby clearing, careful to avoid another of Coulson's literal pitfalls. "Going to keep running?" She asked, cocking her head and eyeing him with tolerant amusement and predatory intent.

"I was thinking about it," Philip replied. He looked entirely at ease waiting for them, beyond the calculation as he tracked movement. "I am supposed to keep you from getting what you want, right?"

Quietly, Clint rounded the other side of the clearing, eyes narrowing on the two of them in a dramatic little face-off. He hesitated, not ashamed to admit that he'd like to at least see how the two of them sparred together.

"Mmm." She didn't bother to comment that he might be underestimating her endurance. Then again, she might be underestimating his. But, for the precise moment, Coulson wasn't fleeing. Clint was barely visible, but seemed to be biding his time.

So Natasha struck, launching herself at her quarry.

Philip had been expecting that and countered as she did. He hadn't quite smoothed all the kinks out of his offense yet, but his parents had started him on defense almost literally as soon as he could walk. The eclectic styles could be confusing if you weren't prepared for it, they'd shown him anything that looked like it would work and had reached out to the family too.

Though she hadn't started quite as young, Natasha had been trained early and often. He was American, so her immediate offensive move as to fall into the patterns of systema. It was rarely taught here, and maybe it would take him by surprise.

Philip had been expecting that, all things considered and a tiny smile tugged at his mouth as he responded in kind. With any luck, it'd be more than a little confusing to see it from him.

Well, well, well. If Natasha had any hesitation on learning that Philip knew systema, it was infintessimal. She segued smoothly into a mixture of krav maga and judo, both of which she assumed he had some familiarity with. Still, as her mix of them was more unique than using a single system, it might still knock him off guard.

When she thought she had a shot, Natasha jumped back into a backbend, using her hands to propel her upwards until her legs could lock around Philip's neck so she could use her full body weight to pull him to the ground.

Okay, that was surprising. Philip huffed out a surprised breath and bent his knees immediately, trying to get his center of gravity lower. If she pulled him over, it'd be all over for him.

Clint couldn't help himself. Before he'd really realized what his plan was, he was moving into the fray, aiming a vicious kick at Natasha's solar plexus, so nicely exposed for him (among other things.)

The kick towards her chest forced Natasha to release Philip, in favor of dodging Clint's strike (and if he hit Philip by mistake, then, all the better). She rolled across the ground, and then planted her feet and paused, waiting a breath for another worthwhile opening.

Philip coughed hard as he was released, barely dodging an accidental hit as he eeled out of the way. He eyed them both, one, then the other, trying to decide if they were going to gang up on him or not. "Neat trick," he rasped at Natasha.

Clint paused to throw his arms out in a wide gesture. "Right? It's even worse in the dark when you can't see it coming."

Once Clint hesitated, and even offered some level of distraction, Natasha went in again. Amusing as their observations were, she had a mission. She had every intention of completing it. She rolled low, sweeping a leg out to try and knock Philip off his feet.

That one connected, he was a little distracted by Clint, much to Philip's embarrassment. He was rolling his way up in short order, trapped on the ground, he might as well be doomed.

Clint recovered quickly from his outburst, launching himself into the mix, blocking Natasha's next strike at Philip, but swinging into another kick meant to knock Philip back off of his feet before he could stabilize. He wasn't exactly on Natasha's side, but he definitely didn't want to lose so easily, to either one of them.

If Clint wanted to knock Philip over for her, she'd let him, and without waiting to see how hard he connected (or if he did), slid in to grasp for the container strapped to Coulson's thigh.

Philip had a choice, protect the cargo or get out of the way. He took the hit from Clint, using it to roll and get out of the way of Natasha's grabby little hands. WHy had he thought two on one was a good idea...?

"Seriously, Coulson? Pits and wires?" Clint huffed as he pressed the attack, swinging a kick wide to knock Natasha's hand away before focusing on Coulson again, aiming a strike to his chest as he rolled to his feet.

"He's old fashioned," Natasha offered wryly, and she rolled out of the way of Clint's foot. She got into a low crouch, and moved for her prey again as Clint aimed for Coulson's chest. If they gave him enough hard decisions to make, he was bound to make a bad one.

"Excuse me, it works," Philip growled as he twisted again. "Two on one isn't any better." He needed to get away from them and fast or this was going to be over quick.

"Kind of one on one on one, isn't it, Agent?" Clint huffed, twisting in place to avoid Natasha's strike. They'd backed up to the minefield of traps again and he ducked low, hooking a trip wire with one boot to wrench it across the path of the other two, attempting to take their feet out from under them.

Natasha leapt the wire, and huffed with mild annoyance. It was time to get serious; she should have had the objective by now. She spun, aiming a hard kick for Clint's diaphragm.

Philip took the chance offered and scrambled to his feet, narrowly avoiding the trap Clint had repurposed. His aim was superb, even with something like that.

Meanwhile, Clint had brought a hand up, trying to twist away, but too slow, especially when he still had his body extended from hooking the wire. He was left exposed, taking the kick full-force, all of the air punched out of him as he fell back into a fake tree.

Clint at least momentarily halted, Natasha moved with focus and purpose towards Philip. She had the dangerous grace of a predator as she made her way in his direction. No more games. She had a goal, and she was going to get it.

Philip spared a glance at Clint to make sure he was alright before turning his entire focus back to Natasha. He'd seen most of what he'd needed to by now, it made him very interested in possibilities for the three of them. But they needed to bring the game to a close and he needed to win, at least this first time. He took a moment to collect himself and was on the attack, no holds barred this time.

Natasha's eyes narrowed, as she went on the defensive. He was good, she had to give him that, but she wasn't easily intimidated.

Intimidation wasn't the plan, evaluation was, and Philip ramped up the attack, pulling out tricks he'd kept under wraps until now, keeping ahead by the thinnest margin.

As they moved, Clint tried to scramble out of the way of their dancing feet, pulling himself back on his ass, one hand still pressed to his chest where he was still having trouble catching his breath. Natasha was vicious, even though he didn't think she'd done anything permanent. He definitely couldn't get to his feet just yet.

Her defensive skills were matching Coulson for the moment, but only just. She needed to make her move and get back on offense, quickly, or he would ultimately be able to wear her down. Natasha blocked a blow that would have hit her sternum, and spun to knock Philip's knee out of place.

It was a tiny mistake, Natasha was excellently trained, but Philip still spotted it. She'd overbalanced, just barely enough for him to shift back just enough and drop, intent on sweeping her own feet out from under her.

Clint's eyebrows went up as he watched it unfold, reminded suddenly that Coulson was so much more badass than he let people think.

Natasha went down, and instinctively reached for firearms and knives that weren't there. Her heart as pounding, and as the situation sank it, she was mildly stunned. It wasn't often that Natasha Romanoff lost.

If it'd been real, Philip would have followed through, but it wasn't real. He stepped back instead, consciously dialing it back a little. "Well that was an interesting first go," he said with a faint smile.

"Ow," Clint complained at him.

Natasha rolled onto her feet, and stood up, eyeing Philip warily from beneath her eyelashes.

Philip just shrugged, still with that small smile. "Scenario's over, at least this first one. I think we're going to work very well together."

"If she doesn't kill me first," Clint grumbled, finally getting to his feet as the forest faded away around them and the pieces of the room started moving back into place.

She turned her head, just a little, to look at the archer. "I'll only kill you if you deserve it," she said dryly. Natasha stood slightly straighter as the room shifted back to its usual appearance and her automatic response to even this simulated threat could be pushed into the background.

"I think that would be a terrible idea," Philip said mildly. "I like having him around. But what did you think of all this?" Philip asked with a vague wave around the room.

She shrugged. "I think there's...potential." They would need more training together, of course. A lot more. Still, Natasha had seen promise. "And the room was impressive."

"You haven't even seen what it can do with a downtown scene," Clint pointed out with a grin. Then he glanced over at Coulson, eyes bright. "But we could pull Agent here into our paintball battles."

Philip just tipped an eyebrow up at that. "Paintball?"

Clint waggled his brows. "Washable. It's the only way we can use real guns in here..."

Natasha let herself smile slightly, almost a smirk, and nodded. "Next time, it's my turn to show you something surprising."

The corner of Philip's mouth tipped up, eyes widening as he did. "You're on."

Comments

[om_magik]

*applauds* This was awesome!