2013.06.13 - Plans and Plots

Despite wanting to handle the whole Batman issue or wanting to keep tracking down the Young Masters, Eddie doesn't spend all his time in costume. Some people just don't let him do that. But now that classes and work are finished for the day, he's making his way down into the Terminal. Dressed in jeans and a homemade Trauma-logo t-shirt, he's hoping to find some of his teammates down here this evening. "Guys?" he calls. "Anyone around?"
Are there other members of The Young Allies down there?
Maybe?
Probably?
Sort of?
All right, so Kate... Errrr... Hawkeye is down there. Staring right at a computer monitor that is turned off. Her elbows are on her knees, the fingers or her hands are intertwined, and her chin is resting on her hands.
"Heya Axiom." is of course said as she hears her friend and ally. but aside from that, she really doesn't say or do much. At least not yet.
Terry's taken to staying in the Terminal as a bit of a home away from home. When he just didn't want to be alone, or when kids in the nearby apartments were having a sleepover that could set off his other side.
Days without incident: 23.
At the moment the teen was laying out across a couch, dressed in civilian wear himself. He groaned a little as Eddie and Hawkeye's voices broke open the silence, and opened a groggy eye. "Oh... hey." he offers towards Eddie, waving a lazy arm.
Eddie perks up a little as he recognizes first Hawkeye's voice then Terry's. Stepping further into the Terminal, he smiles as he spots his teammates. "Hey, g-g-guys. Anythiing going on?" he asks, wanting to make sure he isn't interrupting anything before he asks what he's planning to.
Anything going...?
Unable to help herself, Hawkeye actually lets out a faint chuckle at that question from Eddie.
"No. I don't think so. At least right now." is said before she turns her head and glances in the direction of Terry to hear what, if anything he says.
"Well, I /was/ gliding through a meadow of pretty pink lillies while marshmellow ponies ran alongside me..." Terry starts out, waiting with a smirk for the words to settle in and shock to take place as he starts to sit up. "...nah, nothing here either. Just kinda bumming around at the moment, you know?" Pause. "How about you?" Aside from the obvious, that is, but the resident gloom and doom of the team expects that part to be pretty obvious.
Eddie starts to answer Hawkeye's question but just ends up staring at Terry. His stare is one more of confusion than shock, Eddie actually trying to picture that in his head. It takes him a moment to rule out astral projection and teleportation before it clicks that he must have woken Terry up. "Well, I was hoping to ask you g-g-guys something. How much do you know about Gotham City and Batman?" he asks. He's mostly asking about Gotham because...fanboy.
And Kate /starts/ to snerk at Terry's comments. But well, when when Eddie asks his question...
"Besides the fact he's the entire reason I try to stay out of Gotham while in costume, since it's well known he doesn't like 'outsiders' in his city? Not much. I could ask around The League to see if any of the others want to share what they may know, but as 'the new girl' and 'the kid' as well..."
"Gotham City?" Terry asks, inclining his head a bit. "I've heard it smells some... and I've seen it on the news a couple times, but that's about it." he offers at first, and then considers the second part of that question for a few moments. "Batman... I can't say I know much about him at all. I don't think anyone does, the guy -- at least I think it's a guy -- probably blindfolds himself when he takes off the costume." Pause. "If he takes off the costume. If it /is/ a costume." Then brown eyes focus in on Eddie with a curious look. "Why?"
Eddie nods. It's not new information to him, really. "Of course it's a c-c-costume," Eddie replies to Terry as if confirming the sky were blue. He perks up slightly when Kate mentions the League. "Actually, Hawkeye...does the JLA have a way to contact him?" he asks. Terry's question gets Eddie taking a deep breath. "Well...I've g-got a mission. I need to go into Gotham City and find Batman."
If it's...?
To be honest, just the thought of that does make Hawkeye smile for a moment or two. That is before she glances at Eddie.
"If it was an emergency? Odds are that yes, they could. But knowing The Bat and his reputation, I doubt any of them could up and call him for anything but that. Sorry."
Terry blinks at Eddie's revelation. "You... want to go to Gotham City and find Batman?" he echoes, sounding as if Eddie had just said he wanted to jump off of the Empire State Building. "I don't know of anyone who actually /does/ that." His attention briefly goes to Hawkeye as she proves to be quite the source of information, and he marvels at that for a couple moments before turning his attention back to Eddie. "The question still kinda goes to why you want to go find him. I mean, that's not the kind of thing you put on a scavenger hunt. Not until scavenger hunting becomes a professional sport, anyways."
"Well," Eddie runs his hand through his hair. "A couple nights ago, Batman broke into Thor and Sif's apartment," meaning Eddie's home. "He blew up a wall and attacked them when they found him. He put the building and Sif's baby in danger and dragged the Huntress along for the ride. He was there to g-g-get intel but..." Eddiie frowns. "It doesn't make sense. Especially since he supposedly attacked Pepper Potts too. So I want to go and find out what's going on. Especially since Thor was talking about how it could have been seen as an attack against Asgard itself that m-m-might lead to war..."
3... 2... 1...
Cue Kate facepalming.
"I'll bring /THAT/ up with The League."
Yeah. What can be said to /that/?
"Oh." ... ... ... "&*$#." is Terry's initial response, very short, very succinct.
There's more he could say, such as how Batman must be crazy to attack a /God/ in that God's home. Especially /that/ God. Terry knows from personal experience just how much power Thor's got... or at least how much various Norse critters think he does. It's the kind of thought that makes the boy shudder.
"That's... a good reason to go find him. But you're going to take him on alone?" Afterall, if Batman's gone and started attacking heroes, there's probably going to be a fight involved.
"I'm n-not going to fight him," Eddie insists. "I just want to talk. I've worked with Batman before...and he's a hero," Eddie's voice lowers a little. "There has t-to be some kind of explanation. Or maybe it wasn't even the r-r-real Batman. Or there was mind control involved. He fights the Mad Hatter a lot after all. It could b-b-be some messed up scheme."
And while Eddie and Terry talk, Hawkeye pulls out her smart phone and starts to type something into it.
"I hope there is, because I can see multiple ways this can go south quickly..."
"Hawkeye's right. Not to mention you might not plan on fighting him, but if he /is/ mind controlled, a fraud, or has just plain gone out of control... there's nothing saying that he feels the same way about you right now." Terry chimes in. Moving to stand now. Stretching out a limb at a time. Naps are good, but the waking up process can take a little doing.
Eddiie just frowns. "Then I'll t-t-take back up. That's another reason I c-came down here tonight...to see if anyone wanted to come with me."
For a moment or two Hawkeye remains silent. Then she pushes her sunglasses up, and rubs her temples.
"I'll help if you want. But to be honest, you probably will want to get someone like Xavin or our Spider to help you if you really think he's gone around the bend, or just unwilling to talk."
"I still more or less owe Thor after... you know... so you can count me in." Terry offers, inclining his head. "Besides. If things go south, I'd be kind of curious to see what deep dark secrets are hidden inside a head like that."
Afterall, Terry can read minds. One /very/ specific part of the mind, but it counts. Who knows, it might even hold the answer to the question they're trying to answer. If not? ...he'll be able to serve as decent muscle in the right conditions.
"Thanks, guys," Eddie replies, managing a small smile. "Any help is r-r-really appreciated. I just...this is just -wrong-. On so many levels," he says. There's another pause and Eddie takes a deep breath. "I also should tell everyone...Loki is b-back again. This time he's r-r-running around as a teenager. He's acting like he's good again but that hasn't turned out s-s-so well in the past..."
There's a slight wince at Eddie before Hawkeye manages to let out, "No problem. And I agree. But I won't go there right now."
Then, there's a slight, slow nod.
"And thanks for the heads up."
"Sure thing. I mean, it's for a good cause... and that's what friends are for, right?" Terry adds. Of course, there's also the feeling of owing something to Thor for their first encounter, but truthfully Terry would probably do it because Eddie /is/ a friend. One of the very few he's bestowed that title on.
There would have been a snarky remark at the end to keep him from sounding too chipper, but Eddie fixes that by bringing the news that makes Terry shudder. "Great... just what this city needs."
Eddie takes a deep breath. This all still bothers him on a deep level. Making fanboyism and defense of his family clash has him on edge. Loki being around and Thor and Sif again giving him blind trust only makes it worse. Add in the mess with the demons he and Billy got involved in and the Young Masters and he's really bothered. "Hopefully we c-c-can get this all handled without too much trouble."
And Kate remains silent, as for the moment she frowns and just... Thinks. Unsure what to add just yet.
And yet as Eddie says that bit, she does nod once, slowly.
"It's never that easy..." There's the kind of pessimism that they're probably used to seeing from the black-garbed teen, as he tries to wrap his brain around all the troubles that are going on right now. Not exactly the nice peaceful time he'd been hoping for upon moving to the city, but something he's come to expect by now at the same time.
Finding a space to sit down, Eddie gives Terry a little frown. "Hey. Even if it's n-not easy, as long as we stick together and d-don't give up, we'll pull through. I've g-got faith in you guys," he says. Leaning back, he looks to the ceiling. "So how are y-y-you guys doing?"
With a slight shake of her head even Kate admits that, "No, it's never easy." before she leans back in her chair.
"And I'm about as good as can be expected. If you haven't heard I was invited into the JLA by Superman himself a few weeks back. Aside from that..."
She shrugs
"About the same as always."
Eddie's rousing speech actually draws a chuckle from Terry, who walks over to pat the younger boy on the back. "It may never be easy, but it's good to have you around Eddie. Someone's gotta keep the faith." It's just like Kate said, too. Hanging around Eddie would help, and has helped some. It's definitely better than the crowds he interracted with in school.
"I'm doing alright. Well, aside from..." his volume drops for a moment. "...almostcrushingChannellastweek..." and then back up, "...and being a bit hungry."
Then Kate drops the news. Terry blinks at that, eyes going wide. "That's... wow." Terry's not a fanboy, but the JLA /is/ effectively the big leagues of heroics. "Congratulations then, right?" He's not sure what to think. Does that mean she'll be leaving /this/ team? Of course, given that it was a few weeks back would she even accept that? There's a few questions that run through his head on those thoughts, and it shows on his features.
Eddie nods to Kate, smiling. He'd heard the news. The pat from Terry gets another smile and a faint blush out of the power booster. "Almost crushing Channel?" he asks, concerned now. "Was that when you met Blue? The magic t-teleporting girl that looks sort of like Nightcrawler?" he asks.
Almost crushing...?
Yeah. Hawkeye just peers at Terry as he admits that. But... But... She doesn't ask. Which takes a lot of self control. But then again, considering Terry's powers, she has an idea how it could of happened, but she still knows better than to pry if he doesn't want to share.
"Thank you. I think." is said. 
But then as Eddie probes regarding that almost crush, the female archer goes silent.
Terry nods to Eddie. He doesn't really /count/ that as an incident because it was planned for him to let his other half out of the cage. Even though the almost crushing wasn't exactly -- or at all -- planned. "Yeeeah... let's just say we didn't meet under the greatest of circumstances. We had to stop a robbery and got seperated. /I/ met someone who had a bit of a history with the Juggernaut," ...and made that someone practically wet themselves, "...and they didn't /see/ me, well, you know." Change.
"Once I'm not me, I'm just in the back seat while someone else is driving... thankfully that car stopped before things went badly."
Eddie nods. "Blue m-mentioned it after her and I beat Ghoul," he explains. "I'm glad things g-got under control though."
"So am I." Kate admits regarding Terry being able to get back in 'the drivers seat' before things could of truly gotten out of hand.
All though at the mention of this 'Blue' the female archer does quirk an eyebrow, but instead of asking anything she just lets the others do the talking for the moment.
"Yeah. That's... something I've still got to work on." Terry admits, casting his gaze back down to the ground. He can be pretty formidable, but he knows he's also an unwillingly loose cannon at the moment as well. "One step at a time though, I guess." he adds.
Eddie reaches over to clap Terry on the shoulder. "Hey," he grins. "I'm sure you c-can do it. You'll master your powers, it'll just take practice. Right, Hawkeye?" he asks, looking at the archer.
It may be hard to tell what Kate is looking at, or if her eyes are even open under her 'sunglasses'. And yet with how she's smiling, it may be almsot like she's winking.
"Agreed Eddie. All though getting some help probably wouldn't hurt either."
"Heh... I hope you guys are right about that." Although the fact that there hasn't been any friendly fire in quite a while has been a good sign for Terry. "I don't know about too much practice, though. I... should really only be doing what I do in the field. Against the people who've earned it." Because with the extremes of what he does... it could be ugly otherwise. Kate gets a nod at her extra statement, "Like I told you before, I'm all for that."
"Of course we're right," Eddie replies. "M-maybe Wiccan could help. Like make fake t-t-targets. Or help sheild people if practicing with eachother," Eddiie replies, looking thoughtful. "I'm happy t-t-t-to help any way I can," he adds.
And as Eddie suggests ways to practice, Kate murmurs, "Maybe. Maybe." as she just sits there, apparently considering something. But what ever it is, she doesn't share it.
"I was actually considering trying to bring Dr. Richards in on this, like I suggested to Trauma before. Or maybe seeing if any Asgardian that you may know might be willing and able to help..."
"I... really don't know about that, Eddie. Unless Wiccan can make fake targets with real fears." He doesn't even want to imagine using his abilities on a teammate, even in a practice scenario. Especially the two gathered around him. No, he'll practice as plain ol' Terry given the choice. With the exception being Kate's suggestion of Dr. Richards.
"Yeah... the smartest man on the planet could probably push a button and put me back to normal again, so that's probably the safest route."
"Well," Eddiie looks thoughtful. "M-m-maybe he can project fears from r-real people though the targets," he says. He then nods quickly to Kate. "I'll ask Thor and Sif if there's like...an Asgardian god or goddess of fear," he says, making mental notes. "Dr. Richards is a great idea too."
"Odds are it won't exactly be that easy Terry." is said as Kate shakes her head. "But I wouldn't count anything out."
Then there's a slight nod at Eddie. After all, if Sif and Thor can, even better. And yet, considering that his idea is slightly like hers. 
"I'm not sure how to do it, but well.... If there could somehow be some sort of construct, be it technological or magical that could do that, or even something like a ghost that couldn't really be hurt but could feel fear..."
"Worth asking, at least. Just... have to be ready to take me down if needbe, if we do that. No steering wall and all." It's the same reason that he asked Billy to set up wards against his other half if he could when he was setting up the initial magical wards on the Terminal. The other suggestion from Eddie causes him to blink. He hadn't thought of that. "That... would be pretty intense, but a unique experience for sure if there is one. ... there probably is, I just don't know my Norse mythology that well."
Then an accusing finger is pointed at Kate. "Hey. /Hey./ I'm supposed to be the pessimist. No doing my job, you." ...and with that said, he offers her a half-smile. He's feeling a bit better now, it seems.
"Exactly. I'd kind of rather it not be someone particularly real who's... you know, the focus, but if they're sure they can handle it..." Without any long-term psychological damage, is the part that goes unsaid.
Eddie chuckles slightly. "I don't know it w-w-well either. Billy would know more. He's been helping me study for this whole...b-being a prince thing," he explians with a little laugh. He then snickers quietly as Terry gets accusatory at Kate. "I d-don't think either of you should be pessimistic."
And the roll of her eyes is hidden by her sunglasses, even as Kate shakes her head.
"I'm not trying to be. Sorry." is said before she snerks.
"Just remember not to let that go to your head..." is finally said towards Eddie. "Your highness."
"I'm... trying not to be, too." Terry admits. It's easier here, among friends who accept him for what he is. "That's thanks mostly to you two, by the way. So when we face that bad guy who feeds off of happy people and I can't save us all because I don't need a shrink anymore..." Now they both get fingers pointed at them. "...just remember that part." It's Terry's way of saying thank you.
"...you know, I almost forgot about that. When are you going to throw your coronation party, anyways?" Because why not?
Eddiie gives a little laugh. "We'll stick kick that villains's butt," he says with a nod. "Even if they are fueled by happiness," hs adds. He ends up blushing fuirously at what Kate calls him. "I d-don't think there is a party."
With a slight nod towards Terry Hawkeye simply says, "I won't forget it." 
But she does say it with a smirk.
Then though, to Eddie there is an odd grin.
"Then I guess we'll have to give you one."
Happy to change the subject to a better subject, Terry nods towards Hawkeye.
"Yep, you're getting a party. I mean, you get a party once a year for getting older... considering becoming a Prince is a once in a lifetime event, I'm pretty sure it requires at least one party to celebrate."
"Oh man," Eddie blushes worse. "Thanks," he says. "You don't have t-t-to do it though."
"Yes. yes we do." Hawkeye says as she stabds up, before she actually flashes Eddie an almost evil grin.
"And if you object too much, you'll end up getting a cake with strippers jumping out of it."
"Don't think we won't do it, either." Terry adds solemnly, flashing a wink over to Kate. "I end up passing the Red Light District most days during work anyways, so I'm sure I could have the names of at least twenty we could hire by the end of the week."
"...but we may want to hold off until things have gotten a /little/ less hectic. Gives Kate and I more time to plan, anyways." A nod to that. Evil schemes take time, afterall.
Eddie turns a new shade of red and lets out a little squeak. "I...b-but...I'm pretty sure Anole would object to that too," he squeaks again. Despite the embarrassment, he's glad he's got friends like Kate and Terry and is enjoying the teasing.
"But if we do that Terry, then odds are we'll all be old and dead." is said in a slightly lighthearted manner by the female archer.
"And if Anole objects, we could always put him into the cake with the strippers."
Then though, there is a shrug by Kate at Terry.
"But if you want to wait, we can."
Cue the sticking out of the tongue at Kate by Terry in one of mankind's purest shows of maturity. "Tbbbht. That was an /excuse/ to get some time to properly plan." Because they'll need a little time at least to get everything right, he figures.
As for their other teammate. "You two are an item? Geez, I /really/ haven't been around here enough it seems." Of course, that just means he grins a little wider. "That's good. I don't have the eye for that kind of, ah, talent, so he can come along and help pick out the entertainment, then."
That blushing is going nowhere. He smiles at Kate and Terry's interactions, idly curious if they might be an item...and if not, if he could try to play matchmaker again. He nods to Terry though. "We are," he replies. "We've been um...g-g-going out for awhile."
There's an eyeroll, and a headshake from Kate. Yet again. After all, she doesn't comment out loud at Terrys actions.
That is before finally, she stands up.
"I see..." is said towards Eddie with an odd look from the archer. "I guess we'll have to add some other extras to your party then just to add to things for him too..."
"Well, good for you guys. It's good to have somebody like that." Terry offers in response to the news that Eddie and Anole have been going out for a while. That... actually probably explains Eddie's chipper moods of most of the time pretty well.
"Sounds like it. Not to mention that we've got people to invite and... well. Just quite a few things to plan." Then, a glance over towards the archer. "Heading on out?" He wouldn't be surprised, nor would he blame her. She leads a busy life!
Eddie smiles slightly when Terry gives him the information he'd been wondering about. He'll be planning now. He looks up as Hawkeye starts out, waiting to hear her answer to Terry's question.
"Unfortunately..." is admitted before Hawkeye winces.
"Odds are I shouldn't of even been here. But with everything, I felt like I needed to think."
Then she flashes a smile at her teammates.
"Instead I guess what I needed was friends. Thank you."
Since he's still standing, he doesn't have to get up to walk over and pat Kate on the shoulder. "Hey, it's what we're here for. You know you've told me to call if I ever needed to talk... you remember to do that, too." he points out.
...and he has no idea at all that Eddie's planning a scheme of his own, mwahaha.
Standing up as well, Eddie smiles. "Right. You d-don't have to thank us. We're happy to be your friends and we're here for you whenever you need us."
Maybe that's true. Maybe all of it.
But Kate does nod before she heads for the stairs, before she offers her freinds on more, "Thanks."
Once Kate's out of sight, Terry moves back to settle down into a seat once again. "Unlike her, though... I've got nowhere I'm planning on going." Mainly because today's not a workday and again, sleepover at the apartment. "But seriously, I definitely have to start coming around more often... what else have I missed lately?" he asks of Eddie, looking over.
Sitting back down next to Terry, Eddie nods. "You r-really should. It's good seeing you around," he replies with a smile. When asked what was missed, Eddie looks thoughtful. "Well...a bunch of demons attacked this movie festival in the city. Wiccan and I were there with some others to f-f-fight them. And before that...Loki kidnapped Sif and we haad to go into his private r-r-realm to get her back."
Terry chuckles softly, "I do. It's just a matter of finding that right mix between work and friends. This being the latter, of course. The former's just about as new to me as the whole, going out and saving the day schtick... so it's been a bit tricky." Then as Eddie rattles down through what he's missed, Terry blinks a bit. "Wow, I /have/ missed quite a bit. Everyone's okay now though, right?"
Eddie nods a little. "I'm still g-g-getting used to the friends thing too," he admits. "It's not nearly as easy as fighting bad guys," he laughs. He nods to the question though. "We g-got Sif back, Billy healed everyone, and the baby's safe."
"I don't know about that. I think it's probably easier for me... I mean, in high school I didn't have a lot of friends either, I just had my closest friends and everyone /else/ either teased me or pretended I didn't exist. Now I've got my friends again -- and more of them -- and the bad guys we get to give them what's coming to them." Which is definitely a step up from where he was in school! "Sounds like everything worked out for the best... well, except for the part where Loki's back. That's just..." Shudder. So, on that note he decides to move along in topics. "So... Hawkeye got invited into the Justice League. Think she's going to go?"
"Yeah..." Eddie frowns. "I just g-g-got the teasing, people pretending I didn't exist, and ones that used me as a punching back. My s-supposed friends ditched me the moment my brother started spreading the fact that he thought I was g-g-gay," he mumbles, looking away for a moment. "I'm keeping an eye on him. No one else at home seems to be though," he sighs. When the topic changes, Eddie smiles. "I think she will. But she won't leave us."
Terry frowns at Eddie's description of his school life. Well, that definitely sounds familiar. Except replacing 'gay' with 'mutant', which the older teen still believes he is to this day... and replace his friends ditching him with the other way around as he became a hermit for a couple of years. "Like I said, things are better now." he assures Eddie with a comforting pat on the back, and then a nod to the Loki situation. "They're lucky to have you. Caution is always a valuable asset with a potential danger around." Which includes himself, but this time he doesn't say that.
To the latter? "...I hope you're right about that, Eddie."
"Yeah. They're a lot b-b-better," Eddie agrees. "I'm friends with great guys like you," he adds with a grin. Of course Eddie's also believing he's a mutant when he's not. He nods about Loki and smiles when Kate is mentioned again. "I'm r-right. This is Hawkeye. Gotta have faith in her."
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