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gigglingkatSo thanks to Avengers I have a friend that wants to see The Bourne Legacy but hasn't seen the three previous films. This is a spoiler filled recap of the universe for her. Not a humorous recap, meta or fangirly reaction - although all of that is bound to slip in.
Welcome to your new fandom. As with all established fandoms, you will need to watch your step or suffer n00b bombings.
The Old Guard: The entire movie franchise is based off a series of spy novels that began in 1980 written by Robert Ludlam. He wrote a trilogy. They were so popular that after Ludlam's death in 2001 - the publisher hired/allowed another writer to continue the series. There are major, MAJOR, differences between book and movie verse. This has gone over just as well as you think it has. Do not poke the book fans.
The NewOld Guard: Then there is the movie franchise. People have been trying to make a Bourne movie (I think they actually got it onto TV at one point) since the first book was published. It finally got there with Matt Damon. Resulting backlash from the book fans has made the movie fans as possessive as you'd expect, and the idea of the Renner movie - without the actor and director from the first three films has gone over as well as you think it has. Do not poke the original movie fans.
Scared yet? You probably should be, but what the hell, you've read this far!
Canon Mindfucks (CMFs): aka this universe lives on the idea that nothing is as it seems - and we will only be dealing with movieverse as it is the only one relevant to the Renner Fangirl. Apologies to the Old Guard.
CMF#1: There is no such person as Jason Bourne. Yeah, there are over a dozen books and soon to be four movies all named "Bourne" but there is no Jason Bourne. The core premise of the series is like a bigbang for cliche bingo's amnesia square. There is a world class assassin - we're talking full on ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery spyman. This guy's aliases have aliases. (No, literally. His aliases have fucking aliases.)
And he gets complete amnesia.
That's the first book and film. A man is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea by fishermen who are all "Dude. We want nothing to do with this shit. Have a sweater and disappear." His instincts and reflexes freak him out and he quickly figures out that EVERYONE EVER wants to kill him. He finds a couple of aliases but then figures out they are just aliases for a guy named "Jason Bourne" - only that's yet another alias.
His reaction is hilariously: Fuck you all. I'm going to just leave now. If anyone ever tries to breathe the same air as me, I will just come back and kill you all. Again.
This is almost verbatum what he actually says. It doesn't work for reasons I'll get into below and there are two other movies as a result. "Jason Bourne" is actually David Webb. At the end of the last movie, he was really, really tired from all the CMFs and beginning to realize that the EVERYONE EVER was not far off. So instead of killing them, he lets another ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassin kill him. Kinda. He then is shown swimming away.
CMF#2: The Bad is never the BadGuy. In these films, there are always 3 sides at play. The US Intelligence Community vs Other Government/Terrorist Super Organization Of the Moment. Bourne is actually the wild card that is fucking up both their days. As a result, people rotate from wanting to kill him, to questioning what the fuck just happened, to wanting to help him/bring him in.
That last option is probably the best for all concerned, but as stated, Bourne gets amnesia, and not knowing who to trust, just keeps killing people and running away.
But because these are MOVIES - you can't just not have a BadGuy. So every movie, someone sends a ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassin to kill him. This guy chases him all movie and is sometimes a bona fide US hero - and he is always hot. This is just a device for the movie. The actual BigBad is:
CMF#3: Project Treadstone So the CIA looks at terrorists groups and their ability to create converts so dedicated they will suicide bomb for the cause and thinks, "We could do that better."
They take special forces volunteers, torture them to their mental breaking point and enroll them in "The Program" at which point it gets worse.
Treadstone is mildly successful from the CIA's perspective; they don't get squads as the Treadstones are notorious for not doing well in groups, so the Treadstone "assets" are scattered throughout Europe. The assets report to local controllers, who not only pass out assignments but serve as psych profilers on them.
This is because, oddly enough, creating ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins is not particularly conducive to mental stability. All the assets have several quirks: they develop OCD and can become depressive if they have too much down time - manifesting physically as headaches and light sensitivity.
But hey, covert super assassins are always valuable and get used in increasingly dubious ways, culminating with Bourne floating in the Mediterranean and proceeding to bring the entire house of cards down.
CMF#4: Project Blackbriar Even as the CIA is mopping up and pinning all of Treadstone on Bourne's supervisor, they convert what they learned to Blackbriar.
Blackbriar is Treadstone married to the Patriot Act. Its operatives are used against US citizens. Bourne ends up with all the evidence of this and turns it over to Pam Landry (a CIA director I'll get to in a minute.)
CMF#5 Operation: Outcome - aka none of this might matter to the Renner film. Judging from the trailer - Outcome and Blackbriar are very, very similar and Outcome may just be a rename. Whichever the case, the black ops folks are apparently adding gene therapy to it all to allievate those "quirks" experienced by Bourne. Per the trailer, they succeed and get ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins that will work well with others.
This is what Renner is in the new film - Bourne Legacy.
This would be awesome beyond belief and they should freeze them for the day we need Space Marines to go fight alien invaders.
Instead, the events of the last film seem to make the CIA baddies panic and order Outcome to be burned (i.e. everyone killed). Because, you know, trying to kill the ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins always ends well for these people.
Characters You Need To Know: These are optional. I don't know how much of filmverse they're keeping (they say all, but...) and they tend to do a very good job catching you up. The CIA setting gives them the perfect excuse to literally bring the new guy into a room, sit at a round table and pass around pictures of everyone and tell you everything you need to know to follow the plot. They call them briefings or read ins - but they are exposition dumps at their finest.
Jason Bourne: As previously mentioned, Matt Damon is not in the Renner film. The only reason you need to know about him is that it appears that the beginning of Bourne Legacy will overlap with the ending of Bourne Ultimatum and we will probably hear all about him.
CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landry: She is the CIA director that comes in during the second film and is the only one in authority that has a moral issue with the Treadstone premise. As a result, she is the closest thing to a Genuine Good Guy that we have to date. She only goes after Bourne when he's framed for killing two of her agents. As she is awesome, she quickly realizes that she is being fed bullshit and kinda parts on good terms with Bourne in the second film.
In the third film, Bourne's resurfacing and exposure of Treadstone finally leads Landry to even deeper investigations. When the CIA immediately decides to kill Bourne on sight, she questions it. There is a fabulous deleted scene where she points out that shoot-to-kill is a mistake.
"One, he's very good at staying alive, and two, when you try to kill him and fail, it just pisses him off."
Eventually realizing that not only is the shit about to hit the fan, they're setting her up to take the fall for it, Landy gets her gameface on and single handedly ends the trilogy within 20 minutes. Damn near in real time. Like the mother fucking boss she is. (Guess who's my favorite.)
She openly contacts Bourne, tells him his real name and the address of the training facility. In return, he hands over all the files he's collected from dead reporters and the dirty director's safe. She walks directly to the nearest fax machine and sends it en masse to several media outlets (making killing her a moot point - something NO ONE ELSE was able to realize up to this point.)
She was last seen testifying against her former cronies. (See below.)
Ezra Kramer, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: He's EvilScottGlenn. He ordered everything and is now facing exposure due to Pam's Awesome Fax Power.
Noah Vosen, the former director of Operation Blackbriar: He's the idiot that gave the shoot-to-kill order in the third film when it looked like Bourne was going to expose Blackbriar along with Treadstone. To be fair, there really wasn't anything else he could have done - believing that Bourne was looking to expose him. He's played by the leader of Syfy's Alphas. This makes my mom laugh.
He was also arrested thanks to Pam's Awesome Fax Power and had the keys to all those skeleton filled closets. I suspect panic over what he knows about Outcome will drive parts of the Renner movie.
Dr. Albert Hirsch: Doctor Frankenstein of the Treadstone Monsters - he's the one who developed the brainwashing techniques to turn soldiers into ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins who do not question orders. He considers himself a patriot and is a True Believer. I am hoping they are bringing him back to kill him. Slowly.
And that should be just enough to get you through whatever the Renner movie has in store for us. I hope it helps. I do consider myself a fan of the movies and do recommend them if you ever have the opportunity to check them out.
Here, have a mix to make up for the babbling confusion.
Down and Dirty Quickie Mix.
Couple of dupes in artists and songs, which I normally try to avoid.
1. Extreme Ways by Moby
The Bourne films anthem, it's appeared in all three films.
Think Carry On, Wayward Son for spies.
Extreme ways are back again
[snip]
Oh babe then it fell apart.
2. Leave You Far Behind by Lunatic Calm
Bourne's desperation to get his memory back and get out.
Also the movies in general.
I wanna take you on a roller coaster
I wanna tell ya that I'm feeling closer
I wanna push it right over the line
[snip]
I want to leave you far behind
3. There's No Home For You Here by The White Stripes
Everyone would be better off leaving him alone, but no one wants to take him in.
Each simple gesture done by me is counteracted
And leaves me standing here with nothing else to say
4. Seven Nation Army (the Glitch Mob remix) by The White Stripes
No matter what they throw at him, Jason Bourne never dies.
Ever.
And if I catch you comin' back my way
I'm gonna sell it to you
And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do
And the feeling coming from my bones says mind your own
5. Show Me How To Live by Audioslave
Bourne and his girlfriend Marie.
No, I didn't mention the girlfriend in the above.
There's a reason.
*sob*
Built with stolen parts
A telephone in my heart
Someone get me a priest
To put my mind to bed
This ringing in my head
Is this a cure or is this a disease
6. Somebody That I Used To Know by Ingrid Michaelson
*sob*
Also - in hilarious ways, it reminds me of Bourne's relationship
with the other ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins
They always seems so... insulted when they try to kill each other
with random household items.
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
7. Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack
Marie and Bourne *sob*
Marie does the impossible between the first two films
She keeps him still for over a year and a half.
Moving up slowly
She comes moving up slowly
Inertia creeps moving up slowly
8. Spybreak by Propellerheads
Everyone's plans have plans.
Instrumental
9. Cochise by Audioslave
Landry and Bourne vs the CIA
And put the blame on me
So you don't feel a thing
Go on and save yourself
And take it out on me
10. This Fire by Franz Fernandez
Bourne in the third film, declaring war on the CIA
Like a boss
This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
11. Leave You Far Behind (Mortal Kombat Mix) by Lunatic Calm and the Internet
A build up to the next film.
Download
Welcome to your new fandom. As with all established fandoms, you will need to watch your step or suffer n00b bombings.
The Old Guard: The entire movie franchise is based off a series of spy novels that began in 1980 written by Robert Ludlam. He wrote a trilogy. They were so popular that after Ludlam's death in 2001 - the publisher hired/allowed another writer to continue the series. There are major, MAJOR, differences between book and movie verse. This has gone over just as well as you think it has. Do not poke the book fans.
The NewOld Guard: Then there is the movie franchise. People have been trying to make a Bourne movie (I think they actually got it onto TV at one point) since the first book was published. It finally got there with Matt Damon. Resulting backlash from the book fans has made the movie fans as possessive as you'd expect, and the idea of the Renner movie - without the actor and director from the first three films has gone over as well as you think it has. Do not poke the original movie fans.
Scared yet? You probably should be, but what the hell, you've read this far!
Canon Mindfucks (CMFs): aka this universe lives on the idea that nothing is as it seems - and we will only be dealing with movieverse as it is the only one relevant to the Renner Fangirl. Apologies to the Old Guard.
CMF#1: There is no such person as Jason Bourne. Yeah, there are over a dozen books and soon to be four movies all named "Bourne" but there is no Jason Bourne. The core premise of the series is like a bigbang for cliche bingo's amnesia square. There is a world class assassin - we're talking full on ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery spyman. This guy's aliases have aliases. (No, literally. His aliases have fucking aliases.)
And he gets complete amnesia.
That's the first book and film. A man is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea by fishermen who are all "Dude. We want nothing to do with this shit. Have a sweater and disappear." His instincts and reflexes freak him out and he quickly figures out that EVERYONE EVER wants to kill him. He finds a couple of aliases but then figures out they are just aliases for a guy named "Jason Bourne" - only that's yet another alias.
His reaction is hilariously: Fuck you all. I'm going to just leave now. If anyone ever tries to breathe the same air as me, I will just come back and kill you all. Again.
This is almost verbatum what he actually says. It doesn't work for reasons I'll get into below and there are two other movies as a result. "Jason Bourne" is actually David Webb. At the end of the last movie, he was really, really tired from all the CMFs and beginning to realize that the EVERYONE EVER was not far off. So instead of killing them, he lets another ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassin kill him. Kinda. He then is shown swimming away.
CMF#2: The Bad is never the BadGuy. In these films, there are always 3 sides at play. The US Intelligence Community vs Other Government/Terrorist Super Organization Of the Moment. Bourne is actually the wild card that is fucking up both their days. As a result, people rotate from wanting to kill him, to questioning what the fuck just happened, to wanting to help him/bring him in.
That last option is probably the best for all concerned, but as stated, Bourne gets amnesia, and not knowing who to trust, just keeps killing people and running away.
But because these are MOVIES - you can't just not have a BadGuy. So every movie, someone sends a ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassin to kill him. This guy chases him all movie and is sometimes a bona fide US hero - and he is always hot. This is just a device for the movie. The actual BigBad is:
CMF#3: Project Treadstone So the CIA looks at terrorists groups and their ability to create converts so dedicated they will suicide bomb for the cause and thinks, "We could do that better."
They take special forces volunteers, torture them to their mental breaking point and enroll them in "The Program" at which point it gets worse.
Treadstone is mildly successful from the CIA's perspective; they don't get squads as the Treadstones are notorious for not doing well in groups, so the Treadstone "assets" are scattered throughout Europe. The assets report to local controllers, who not only pass out assignments but serve as psych profilers on them.
This is because, oddly enough, creating ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins is not particularly conducive to mental stability. All the assets have several quirks: they develop OCD and can become depressive if they have too much down time - manifesting physically as headaches and light sensitivity.
But hey, covert super assassins are always valuable and get used in increasingly dubious ways, culminating with Bourne floating in the Mediterranean and proceeding to bring the entire house of cards down.
CMF#4: Project Blackbriar Even as the CIA is mopping up and pinning all of Treadstone on Bourne's supervisor, they convert what they learned to Blackbriar.
Blackbriar is Treadstone married to the Patriot Act. Its operatives are used against US citizens. Bourne ends up with all the evidence of this and turns it over to Pam Landry (a CIA director I'll get to in a minute.)
CMF#5 Operation: Outcome - aka none of this might matter to the Renner film. Judging from the trailer - Outcome and Blackbriar are very, very similar and Outcome may just be a rename. Whichever the case, the black ops folks are apparently adding gene therapy to it all to allievate those "quirks" experienced by Bourne. Per the trailer, they succeed and get ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins that will work well with others.
This is what Renner is in the new film - Bourne Legacy.
This would be awesome beyond belief and they should freeze them for the day we need Space Marines to go fight alien invaders.
Instead, the events of the last film seem to make the CIA baddies panic and order Outcome to be burned (i.e. everyone killed). Because, you know, trying to kill the ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins always ends well for these people.
Characters You Need To Know: These are optional. I don't know how much of filmverse they're keeping (they say all, but...) and they tend to do a very good job catching you up. The CIA setting gives them the perfect excuse to literally bring the new guy into a room, sit at a round table and pass around pictures of everyone and tell you everything you need to know to follow the plot. They call them briefings or read ins - but they are exposition dumps at their finest.
CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landry: She is the CIA director that comes in during the second film and is the only one in authority that has a moral issue with the Treadstone premise. As a result, she is the closest thing to a Genuine Good Guy that we have to date. She only goes after Bourne when he's framed for killing two of her agents. As she is awesome, she quickly realizes that she is being fed bullshit and kinda parts on good terms with Bourne in the second film.
In the third film, Bourne's resurfacing and exposure of Treadstone finally leads Landry to even deeper investigations. When the CIA immediately decides to kill Bourne on sight, she questions it. There is a fabulous deleted scene where she points out that shoot-to-kill is a mistake.
"One, he's very good at staying alive, and two, when you try to kill him and fail, it just pisses him off."
Eventually realizing that not only is the shit about to hit the fan, they're setting her up to take the fall for it, Landy gets her gameface on and single handedly ends the trilogy within 20 minutes. Damn near in real time. Like the mother fucking boss she is. (Guess who's my favorite.)
She openly contacts Bourne, tells him his real name and the address of the training facility. In return, he hands over all the files he's collected from dead reporters and the dirty director's safe. She walks directly to the nearest fax machine and sends it en masse to several media outlets (making killing her a moot point - something NO ONE ELSE was able to realize up to this point.)
She was last seen testifying against her former cronies. (See below.)
Ezra Kramer, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: He's EvilScottGlenn. He ordered everything and is now facing exposure due to Pam's Awesome Fax Power.
Noah Vosen, the former director of Operation Blackbriar: He's the idiot that gave the shoot-to-kill order in the third film when it looked like Bourne was going to expose Blackbriar along with Treadstone. To be fair, there really wasn't anything else he could have done - believing that Bourne was looking to expose him. He's played by the leader of Syfy's Alphas. This makes my mom laugh.
He was also arrested thanks to Pam's Awesome Fax Power and had the keys to all those skeleton filled closets. I suspect panic over what he knows about Outcome will drive parts of the Renner movie.
Dr. Albert Hirsch: Doctor Frankenstein of the Treadstone Monsters - he's the one who developed the brainwashing techniques to turn soldiers into ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins who do not question orders. He considers himself a patriot and is a True Believer. I am hoping they are bringing him back to kill him. Slowly.
And that should be just enough to get you through whatever the Renner movie has in store for us. I hope it helps. I do consider myself a fan of the movies and do recommend them if you ever have the opportunity to check them out.
Here, have a mix to make up for the babbling confusion.
Down and Dirty Quickie Mix.
Couple of dupes in artists and songs, which I normally try to avoid.
1. Extreme Ways by Moby
The Bourne films anthem, it's appeared in all three films.
Think Carry On, Wayward Son for spies.
Extreme ways are back again
[snip]
Oh babe then it fell apart.
2. Leave You Far Behind by Lunatic Calm
Bourne's desperation to get his memory back and get out.
Also the movies in general.
I wanna take you on a roller coaster
I wanna tell ya that I'm feeling closer
I wanna push it right over the line
[snip]
I want to leave you far behind
3. There's No Home For You Here by The White Stripes
Everyone would be better off leaving him alone, but no one wants to take him in.
Each simple gesture done by me is counteracted
And leaves me standing here with nothing else to say
4. Seven Nation Army (the Glitch Mob remix) by The White Stripes
No matter what they throw at him, Jason Bourne never dies.
Ever.
And if I catch you comin' back my way
I'm gonna sell it to you
And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do
And the feeling coming from my bones says mind your own
5. Show Me How To Live by Audioslave
Bourne and his girlfriend Marie.
No, I didn't mention the girlfriend in the above.
There's a reason.
*sob*
Built with stolen parts
A telephone in my heart
Someone get me a priest
To put my mind to bed
This ringing in my head
Is this a cure or is this a disease
6. Somebody That I Used To Know by Ingrid Michaelson
*sob*
Also - in hilarious ways, it reminds me of Bourne's relationship
with the other ninjas-have-nothing-on-me, I-exude-badassery assassins
They always seems so... insulted when they try to kill each other
with random household items.
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
7. Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack
Marie and Bourne *sob*
Marie does the impossible between the first two films
She keeps him still for over a year and a half.
Moving up slowly
She comes moving up slowly
Inertia creeps moving up slowly
8. Spybreak by Propellerheads
Everyone's plans have plans.
Instrumental
9. Cochise by Audioslave
Landry and Bourne vs the CIA
And put the blame on me
So you don't feel a thing
Go on and save yourself
And take it out on me
10. This Fire by Franz Fernandez
Bourne in the third film, declaring war on the CIA
Like a boss
This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
11. Leave You Far Behind (Mortal Kombat Mix) by Lunatic Calm and the Internet
A build up to the next film.
Download
no subject
Date: 2012-06-04 09:32 am (UTC)god, now I want to watch ALL OF THE BOURNE FILMS.
Will Landry be in Renner's film? What about, uh, Clare Danes' character, you know, the quietly badass chick? (spoiler: I liked her a lot.)
[edit: obviously clint barton has his own history already but does anyone else think it's awesome that there will shortly be footage of "clint barton" being an amazing badass ninja assassin dude? someone write me the crossover now, I wants it.]
no subject
Date: 2012-06-04 11:02 pm (UTC)I FOUND OUT MY BOURNE IDENTITY IS SCRATCHED ANY WENT AND GOT THE TRILOGY ON BLURAY. THUS IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW.
Landry is listed on imdb but Clare Danes - Nicky - is not. They wanted to leave the door open for another Matt movie.
And yes - I THOUGHT "THAT EXPLAINS HAWKEYE" TOO!!! Plus - it makes what happens with Loki even worse because his entire speech to Natasha takes on a layer of "Again. Someone did this shit to me AGAIN."
[post is now public if you can guilt anyone into writing it]
no subject
Date: 2012-06-05 12:08 am (UTC)Some fanfic authors had circus -> enlist -> special ops -> SHIELD but now that this movie is happening I like circus -> enlist -> Outcome -> SHIELD so much BETTER!!!! askjfnskdjgn
oh god, Natasha is totally Russian Treadstone, this explains everything ("You know I do.")
I require it to be August now.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-05 01:27 am (UTC)It's one of the major departure points because the books were written during the Cold War, but Treadstone was a response to the Russian's program and then goes bad.
So NEW HEAD CANON:
Clint grew up in the circus and is a good marksman. He enlists and quickly ends up in the snipers/special ops. From there he volunteers for Outcome.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I just realized that Treadstone/Blackbriar/Outcome - are all THE SUPER SOLDIER PROGRAM. Again.
And because mutations exist in Marvel Movieverse - the whole playing with the chromosomes that is Bourne canon activates his latent x-factor genes.
Outcome gets the burn order and he runs. SHIELD is called into mop up and Fury is all "WHAT? YOU DID ANOTHER HALF ASSED SUPER SOLDIER PROGRAM? THE LAST GUY JUST FLATTENED HARLEM." And upon realizing they want to KILL all the operatives, Fury just loses it and immediately recruits Clint.
... I also think that movieverse Coulson might actually BE Jason Bourne. The older veteran that Clint and Natasha adore beyond reason because HE KNOWS and is the reason they break free.
The Avengers happens and Loki takes over Clint and it makes Clint that mindless killer - and if it shows you "truth" then is that all he is? A weapon that needs a target?
OMG WHY DOES THIS NOT EXIST????
on my phone so just quickly
Date: 2012-06-05 04:14 am (UTC)Oh my god
Kat you are doing an amazing job already and I will cheerlead you the whole way! *flutters eyelashes*
Re: on my phone so just quickly
Date: 2012-06-06 03:32 am (UTC)hmm
Date: 2012-06-07 03:00 pm (UTC)Then you proceed with the investigation, how Natasha, Clint and Coulson are handling things and handling the slow reveal of pieces of themselves to their teammates, alternating sections with the past - how Clint met Natasha (Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call.) **maybe clint's independence was part of the reason the burn order was called?**, how the burn order went down, how coulson recruited them into SHIELD.
And then the reveal that Coulson is Bourne, and you could alternate that with how Fury got HIM into SHIELD (I'm guessing through Nicky, maybe?)
And then all their teammates are in the know and they kick the shit out of Treadstone and get Landry promoted something amazing and then wind up with a touching moment between Clint and Natasha and Coulson.
??
PROFIT?
**
It's the second-last job before the burn order; the second-last job before everything goes to hell. The thing is, he was absolutely going to do it. She was Russian; she was working against the US; but more than that, she was his target. He wasn't supposed to question, they'd (beaten) trained that out of him long ago. She was an assignment, and he was supposed to pull the trigger. But-
**
"Cross," Bourne says, and he can't help it - he snaps to attention like a stupid rookie, embarrassed to have been caught distracted.
"Sorry," he says, scrubbing a hand over his face. He's better than this, he should be more alert, but he's been running on fumes for weeks.
He's still not entirely convinced that he's awake; that he could be sitting in a darkened apartment with Jason Bourne, the Jason Bourne. Any moment now, he's going to wake up, alone in some shithole with the dogs on his heels. Any moment now. Jesus.
"Why'd you come for me, anyway?" he asks.
Bourne spreads his hands out on the table, pressing his fingertips into the cheap laminate. "Because you're me," he says finally. "Because I know."
And that might be true, but- "Your file says you don't play well with others," he says. "Why do you even care?"
The corner of Bourne's mouth quirks. "Because I can make you better than they ever could," he says.
**
"Here," Bourne says, and tosses them each a tiny book, underhand. Hers is pink; his is blue, and the enthusiastic title reads 'IT'S A BOY!'.
"Seriously?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not who they made you into," Bourne says. "Now you get to choose."
**
"Clint Barton," he says, rolling it over his tongue. "Hello."
"Pleased to meet you," she says. "Natasha Romanov."
**
"Why the bow?" Bourne - no, Coulson - asks. He's not censuring - just asking, just curious.
Clint draws the string back, takes a moment to sight down the arrow. "It was always too - different. Too noticeable. Bullets are easy, but people start dying with arrows-"
Coulson's already nodding. "It would have been a liability."
"Right," Clint says, and relaxes his fingers. The string snaps out of his grip, and a moment later the arrow hits the target, a hair off-centre. He frowns, checking over the bow again.
"Anyway," he says, distracted, "it was something I was never allowed to have. And I-" He missed it, missed it like a limb. Missed it like breathing. He shakes his head. "Anyway," he says again, "now I get to choose."
**
I just want you to know that I haven't seen the Bourne movies in YEARS and also have never read the books and this probably makes no sense and also I AM NOT WRITING THIS
Just So You Know: I hate you sooooo much right now
Date: 2012-06-07 06:32 pm (UTC)New terrorist threat - nothing for the Avengers, it's pure SHIELD - some rouge CIA asset code named "Blackbriar" has come up on radar. Coulson, who's very much alive, though no one knows how, and don't think Fury didn't have a few choice words for the medics about that, is oddly insistent about taking lead.
Maria Hill is suspicious of it and the fact that Fury is not suspicious in the least and, in fact, is acting like he suspected Coulson would. And it's more than making up for those damn trading cards, no matter what Coulson keeps saying. She does a file search for Coulson and Blackbriar and gets semicaught by Natasha.
Natasha goes to Clint who reacts to the term "Blackbriar" but doesn't respond to Natasha. Natasha says she can't help fix it if she doesn't know what it is. Clint says this isn't hers to fix, she flashes back to her first meeting with Clint.
They recognized each other for what they were immediately. [something] Natasha does something else and makes Clint realize she doesn't want to be that anymore, so instead of killing her, he brings her into Coulson.
Coulson gives her the It's a Girl envelope. Off her look, Clint just snorted and said, "I don't know. It's just his thing. Apparently, "corny" just can't be trained or modified out of a guy."
Go back to present day and Natasha tells Clint that if she can't fix it, she'll gladly kill it. Clint smiles and says if it were that simple, he'd have already done it. As he leaves, Natasha asks him what Blackbriar is and Clint smiles as the doors close. "It's a boy."
[something to clue in Avengers that THINGS ARE AMISS]
Coulson leads a team and are leaving the hellicarrier when Clint gets on without a word. Coulson doesn't acknowledge it until they are on their way when he sits down next to him and says, "Thanks."
Clint just nods and says, "I can bring him in."
Flashback to Clint telling Coulson, "I can bring her in." referring to Natasha and the scene with Coulson and Clint revealing they know that Natasha is a product from a Russian deep ops training program. Clint should be pushing Coulson as he's the one who's seen her and hints that Clint is the same.
Back to present and Natasha is waiting for them even though they left before her and no one knew where they were going. "This is why she's my favorite," says Coulson.
[something where Hill goes to Fury about how Clint and Natasha went off the reservation to go with Coulson. Fury just rolls his one good eye and says he saw this coming a mile off. This just pisses Hill off because she remembers when there used to be discipline and a chain of command. "Oh there's still a chain of command," Fury assures her, "It's just older than our current one."
Hill blows up in her awesome controlled way and says she knows that Natasha will go off book for Clint, but that's no reason -
Fury interrupts, "What do you know about Barton's history?"
Flashback - reveal that Clint Barton is Aaron Cross and all the stuff that makes it apparent he is the same as Natasha. The stuff with It's A Boy and the bow.
Present Mission - tactical base set up in India - now what. Nothing. We do not engage the target. Not even friendly contact. Nope. Then how will the target even know we're here? All three, "He already does."
Sitting around, Clint starts talking to Coulson and asking how he knows for sure this guy wants in from the cold?
Coulson doesn't shrug, but Clint feels it anyway. "How did you know about Natasha?" Coulson asks, "For that matter, how did I know about you? This guy's been in the wind for as long as you. Nearly as long as - " He stopped to sign off on the shift change report.
"Point is, he's surfaced now for a reason. He'll come in if he can choose."
Flashback to the "You can choose" scene with Coulson and Clint and the reveal that Coulson is Jason Bourne.
Come back to present and Natasha's there, they've obviously been sharing with her. She notes that she knew who Coulson must be, but that he's never confirmed that. Coulson smiles and says, "Must be slipping in my old age."
Clint suddenly looks sharply at him, "You never slip."
Natasha immediately follows his train of thought, "You're introducing yourself."
Coulson smiles wryly at them, "Well, I've changed quite a bit since that rooftop. I wasn't sure he'd recognize me."
"Almost didn't," a voice agrees as black-clad figure drops from the roof. The rest of the team manages not to draw their weapons, but Natasha and Clint pull theirs, old habits die hard.
The newcomer keeps his hood up, but keeps the guns down. They all stand there in silence for a full minute until Coulson idly starts humming the jeopardy theme song. Natasha looks confused, but the newcomer laughs. Clint rolls his eyes and puts away the bow. "So you get what you're signing into."
The hooded head tilts. "What happens if that's too much and I want to leave."
Natasha puts her guns away and sits back down. "We'll stay two more days to give you a chance to change your mind, or get a head start, then go home."
Coulson nods, "Although I've been told I have an excellent singing voice."
Both Clint and Natasha give him a look on that, but say nothing. Their newest recruit drops into the open chair, causing everyone to breathe easy again as he says, "OK. I'm in. Is it that simple?"
Coulson looks grim, for a moment, all Clint can see is Bourne, as he straightens determinedly and says, "Oh yes, it's that goddamn simple. I've made sure."
He tosses an all to familiar "It's a Boy!" blue envelope to their new friend. "All you have to do is choose."
Gloved hands open the packet. "Brian McCabe," he says, rolling it around on his tongue.
Clint starts to welcome Brian when the packet goes flying back to Coulson, immediately causing the tension in the room to go through the roof. "If you don't mind, I already have a name."
Coulson is caught off guard but never misses a beat. "That's not a problem. What is it?"
The hood comes off. "Bucky Barnes. I'm pretty sure you know someone who will vouch for me."
"Steven Rogers. Captain America."
END
Re: hmm
Date: 2012-06-07 06:33 pm (UTC)5 minutes before I have to leave for work
Date: 2012-06-08 12:10 am (UTC)the IT'S A BOY was supposed to be like a baby names book - they got to choose who they were going to be down to the name, which totally wasn't clear.
MORE LATER, HAVE TO MAKE LUNCH
:D :D :D
Re: 5 minutes before I have to leave for work
Date: 2012-06-08 12:33 am (UTC)I also feel that the title to this thing we are not writing should be "Goodnight, Siagon" because the chorus of "and we said we'd all go down together" has been stuck in my head all day. Gee, I don't know WHY. *such epic, epic facepalming*
Re: 5 minutes before I have to leave for work
Date: 2012-06-08 04:23 am (UTC)Hee, I am okay with that title! Or alternate suggestion: Goodnight Saigon (we said we'd all go down together)
but I just like double titles. <.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 02:29 pm (UTC)