2013.04.17 - Teens on Teams

In Central Park there is a bridge. There is nothing unusual about this bridge. Sure, on the under side there is a door, but so what?
Not too far from this bridge there is a 'street vendor' selling food from a cart. Which is not that unusual anywhere in this city. of course, what he's selling are deep fried spam tacos, but... So what?
In other words, it's just a normal day in what appears to be a normal section of Central Park. There's nothing unusual about it.
The fact that there is a woman armed with a bow and arrow in the treeline not too far from that bridge is not unusual either. All though she is trying not to be seen. At least for now. After all, Hawkeye does have a reason for being here. Not just in this park, but this section of the park.
Well, Jocelyn had to get some air today. It had already been a busy one, what with dragging Doug around to actually get himself healed properly and then inadvertantly helping to bring them another mutant. So, Jocelyn wanted a little bit of time to wander the park before she had to head back up to the manor to get some things done. She wasn't actually looking for problems for a change (when was she ever), but with her luck, who knew how that would play out?
Most people tend to not look up, and Jocelyn is keeping alert as she walks. She knew this park had perfectly valid mundane threats to be aware of, and she didn't feel like being pickpocketed. However, what is unusual to her is spotting the heat signature up in the tree. Huh. Someone was a little ways off, up in a tree? That was unusual. She does spot the vendor, however. Okay, that couldn't be this person's target, could it? Unable to really make Hawkeye out from this distance as a person (and she'd have trouble identifying her anyway), Jocelyn keeps walking, perhaps slightly more on alert now. Something was up, unless this person really liked being in trees. Jocelyn's path will take her in the general direction of Hawkeye's tree, but not right at it. Just closer.
And in some ways, that may very well just be close enough. After a fashion.
Maybe not for Hawkeye. At least not immediately. but for that salesman to start shouting about his wears!
"Tacos! Get your deep fried spam tacos here! Nice hot deep fried spam tacos!"
On the other hand, as Jocelyn does get closer, the person in the tree blinks, and even smiles. Faintly. That is before she drops from the tree she's in, landing in a crouch. Sure, odds are Hawkeye could of done something more showy, buuut...
But as she keeps both eyes on Jocelyn, she just doesn't. Nor does she say or do much of anything else.
Jocelyn isn't expecting a fight from this woman. There's a very slight natural shift in Jocelyn's stance as the woman drops, and Hawkeye may notice that Jocelyn's eyes are tracking her as she drops from the trees, even through the branches and brush. She brushes the hair out of her eyes, first with her right hand and then with the left, palms facing outward and in the direction of Hawkeye. Unarmed and peaceful is the message she intends to send across. She didn't know if this woman recognized her or not. She looked vaguely familiar. Kind of like the woman in the future, but much younger. Of course, Jocelyn couldn't be sure of that.
The woman instead moves silently around a couple trees, still keeping that non-threatening body language going, though she is moving stealthily enough that it should be clear she's trying to avoid blowing the woman's cover. If Hawkeye lets her, Jocelyn will end up a couple trees over from her. Close enough to speak quietly, but also far enough that neither of them would feel crowded.
"Interesting vantage point," is said as the man continues to shout about his tacos, the woman using his voice as additional vocal cover.
"Not so interesting when you know this park." is said towards Jocelyn, without Hawkeye actually looking at the other girl. 
In fact, as Jocelyn gets closer, the woman in purples bow is... Slung over her shoulder?
"And the types that are usually in this part of it."
Then though, there's a slight, odd statement.
"Not that there's a lot of green dragons copying powers or time travelers around here right now.."
Maybe it's the voice. Maybe it's something else. But all things considered, Kate has to be sure, especially if this is the same person.
"Well, you got one inadvertant time traveler, but she was mostly pulled along for the ride a couple times," Jocelyn responds casually enough. "And no, no dragons or yellow ring bearers or magicians running around," Jocelyn responds. "Kind of a nice change of pace, really".
Jocelyn leans against a tree. The voice was familiar to her as well. And that little bit of code was enough for her.
"Worked with some I'd call my allies a few times on things lately. Think you know might know them".
The woman isn't looking at Kate either, but is instead just keeping an eye on things as they talk quietly. She's taking her cue slightly from the other girl and slightly from her own upbringing. Always be aware of what's going on.
And there's where Hawkeye.... Smiles?
All right, so it'd a bit of a lopsided grin, but still...
"You could say they're allies. Possibly even your allies if you're interested. After what happened and some of the things I've heard, I think you'd be more than welcome if you wanted."
Then though, there is a glance at that food cart.
"All though I might have to have you buy a taco first..."
"Could be. You saw my uniform though. That an issue?" Jocelyn responds. She figures Hawkeye is going to be clued in enough to figure out what the x-suit signified. It tended to have X's in more than a few spots. But she had to know that first.
There's a pause before the woman speaks up again. "If it isn't an issue, a taco sounds like a good idea. Find somewhere we can chat a bit more easily maybe?" Jocelyn knew some spots, and she was sure Hawkeye did, too.
Hawkeye knows better than 'some spots'. In fact...
She glances right at Jocelyn, and offers her a smile. That is before she shakes her head.
"Just to play it safe, you may want to show me that you can do now what you did then somehow. And I'll take care of the taco man."
"Nobody shooting yellow energy at me this time, but I can give you a demo," Jocelyn responds. Glancing around, Jocelyn makes sure there are no onlookers before she flies up and over a branch, landing about the same distance away from Hawkeye as she was before, still near a tree. She then draws in small bit of electrical energy from a nearby lamp, which flickers briefly but stays on. She holds her hand out and a two inch electrical spark zaps out of her hand.
"I'd rather not rip a tree up or bend that lamp, though if you want me to demo that part of it later, that's fine". Jocelyn figured a big, flashy demo wasn't needed. Something subtle, however, would be fine.
And as Jocelyn does those 'little examples' Hawkeyes pulls her bow off, ties something green to the shaft of an arrow, and fires it over towards the food cart. Only said arrow hits the ground maybe five feet to the side and behind that cart. Which is not only enough to get the attention of the carts owner, but to get him walking towards the arrow.
The woman in purple is paying more attention to Jocelyn though. All though as she finishes that little show up, there's a nod, before she just points towards that bridge. Or to be more exact, a door underneath it.
"Good enough. Come on."
Jocelyn follows Kate with a nod. She doesn't speak, because any questions she has will be answered momentarily, once they get to wherever they're going. Which is when something dawns on her. The woman wasn't hunting someone. She must have been guarding.
Well, that made things interesting, now didn't it?
Who says Hawkeye couldn't of been doing both?
But oh well, as the pair get to the under side of the bridge, there's a door. One that leads to what looks like an old, rarely used storage closet. And yet it isn't until Kate reaches the far wall where things get interesting. For that opens to a staircase. 
And what lays beyond, well...
It was possible. But Jocelyn's mind tended to work in primary and secondary objectives when it came to things like that, and the location made her think guarding more than hunting. Regardless, that line of thought is dismissed when she follows Hawkeye down into the Terminal.
"Nice setup. I swear I've walked by here plenty of times and not noticed it down here. Guess the old electrical signals kept it well enough hidden from me," Jocelyn says as she looks around. Her guard relaxes a little more once they're inside. She's determined nobody here is planning on giving her grief, so she doesn't have to worry about an ambush. There's a pause as she looks around the room, but not at the computers.
"Okay, you have wifi down here? Geez, and I have enough trouble getting signal in my room". Totally not fair.
ANd yes, it's almost as if Hawkeye starts to relax as they head down into The Terminal. All though at those statements and questions...
"This is new York City. It's almost insanely easy to hide things when you stop and think about it. Subways. Sewers. Power lines. Bomb shelters. Heck, in some cases /entire buildings/ that have been hidden, lost, or forgotten about. Supposedly there's not only the old sewer system for example, but almost an entire /secondary/ subway system in some parts of the city that have been abandoned. So don't be surprised at all bout things hidden from view. heck, most people even forget about certain islands that are /technically/ part of the city that humans don't inhabit or even visit regularly."
Then though she turns and starts towards a mini-fridge over by the computers.
"And yeah. We have wifi. Nothing too fancy for that setup. /BUT/ that may change soon if people want." Pause. "Speaking of want... Want a drink? Water? Soda? Coffee?"
"D-didn't I tell you once before that there's way more to this city than what's above the ground?" comes a voice from one of the tunnels. Axiom emerges from the tunnel a few moments later. He's in costume and smiling as he pulls himself onto the platform. Taking his backpack off, the power booster lifts a hand to wave. "This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the hidden city under the one that n-never sleeps."
"Relatively new to New York myself, to be perfectly honest. I'm still learning a fair bit about it and it's history," Jocelyn responds. Which should be obvious by her lack of New York or even Northeastern accent. Of course, that information Hawkeye provides will give her something to look into in the future.
"Soda works, whatever you've got the most of or are trying to get rid of as long as it's got caffeine in it," the teen says easily enough. "Can't say I'm a big techhead myself, but I've learned to recognize it". Since wi-fi was now just about everywhere, it was a thing she had to deal with seeing.
She's letting Hawkeye lead the conversation for the time being, however. It was her place, and she was the recruited, or interviewee, or whatever you wanted to call it.
"Hey there," Jocelyn responds to the boy easily. "And yeah, I think you might have mentioned it once. Haven't had a chance to go digging around in it too much though, aside from our time with the gator-riding Deadpool". Which Jocelyn has mostly tried to repress in a lot of ways.
"So, I don't think I ever actually introduced myself to you properly. I'm Jocelyn," the woman says to Hawkeye.
And as a can of Mt. Dew Code Red goes flying at the mutant girl, the one in purple just says one word.
"Hawkeye."
Then though there is a quirked eyebrow at Axiom as he arrives, before she shakes her head.
"If you want Jocelyn, I could cut to the chase. Buuuut..." She glances at Eddie. "After everything that happened, what do you think?"
"I finished mapping out those side t-tunnels and I fixed up a gate and basic alarm for it too, Hawkeye," Axiom reports, letting his teammate know what he was doing down in the tunnels. He chuckles slightly at Jocelyn, shaking his head. "Don't worry. If you start digging, you'll b-b-be down there for awhile," he says. "Cutting to the chase couldn't hurt."
The soda is caught nimbly enough, and the woman pops it open. "Well, seems like a pretty okay deal to me, as long as my other affiliation isn't an issue," Jocelyn replies to Hawkeye. The X-Men took her in, and she wasn't going to abandon them. Jocelyn takes a drink of the soda as she looks around before "Might be times I'm unavailable, but it won't be too hard to drop a text or something letting you know that," the teenager adds. Because, surprise, sometimes the X-Men ended up out of town for something.
"I figure I've worked with Wiccan and Axiom enough times, and I've gotten to know Spider a bit as well". Along with meeting a good hunk of the group on one of the missions, but she hadn't done regular work with them, so that was still a one-time thing.
There's a nod at Eddie, and even a faint snort at the bit about the tunnels and digging. But still....
"Trust me. Being part of any other group isn't an issue. If it was, out Spider probably wouldn't be around, and I'd be long gone as well thanks to my... 'Adoption'. So don't worry about that. And if you're unavailable because of that, we'll understand."
Then though a box next to the fridge is reached for.
"Do you need a phone?"
"Don't worry about it," Axiom chimes in, agreeing with Hawkeye. He grins as Hawkeye reaches for the box, leaning against a nearest surface. "We c-c-can probably figure out a way to make it power-proof if you need that too."
"Right. I know who he works with". Jocelyn shakes her head. Still, it was good to make sure that wasn't some grandfathered in rule. "I've got a phone," the woman says, pulling out her phone. It's a reasonably new model, though not the newest of the smartphones out there. "Don't ask me how to actually do half the things on it, but it works well enough for me and sure beats a burner in most cases". Except when you actually needed a burner.
The girl takes another drink of her soda. "I don't need my phone power-proof. That's just my natural tendency to break technology more advanced than a toaster. I'm not good with computers at all," she admits. She's only fried electronics when her powers went out of control for some other reason.
"So, let me think here. I've met Speed, Speedball, and some other shapeshifter whose name I didn't get before. The three of you and Scarlet Spider". She ticks her fingers. "Anyone else I should know about?" she asks casually. "So who I know should be down here if I wander down. And let me know if there's anything I can do around here," she adds, recalling Eddie's mapping report he gave.
"Well, the two of you and Wiccan," Jocelyn amends, realizing her counting mistake.
"Right now? Axiom, Wiccan, Scarlet Spider, Speed, Speedball, me, Xavin was probably the shapeshifter, all though it could of been Hulkling too... Then there's Speedy, another archer, and you if you want in." is said as Hawkeye lists off names. "I'd add two or three other names as well, but no one has seen them for a little bit."
All though as that phone is pulled out, it's eyed as Kate nods once, slowly.
"Mind if I see your phone then? 'Cause if you want in, and consider the offer made, you will need to have an app installed on it. It automatically encrypts phone calls and text messages between phones that have it installed, as well as phone numbers. That way we can stay in touch, and keep each other secure."
"It was Xavin," Axiom chimes in. He offers Jocelyn a sympathetic smile. "It's okay, I wss r-r-really bad with tech for awhile too. The app is easy to use though," he says. "Um...there's n-not too much to do around here right now that I c-c-can think of," he says. "Oh yeah! Hawkeye, I have something for you," he says, heading for his backpack again and taking out a carefully wrapped up bundle. He waits until Hawkeye is done with the phone before handing the bundle over. Inside the paper is a pair of exotic looking arrows made of some unusual metal.
"Sure. Give me a second". Jocelyn types in a few codes to unlock her phone and passes it over. It already had a certain amount of encryption on it, but Hawkeye will just see a typical phone interface when she gets the phone from Jocelyn. "Generally in the field I go by Channel, though honestly I don't care if people here know my name or use it when not in the field. And I'm suddenly glad I never chose to put 'speed' anywhere in my name". A third of them already knew her name, so Jocelyn wasn't too concerned. Besides, if she was out for a walk with some others, it wouldn't do for someone on the team to run up to her and call her Channel.
"You said something about upgrades down here?" Jocelyn asks Hawkeye as the phone is passed over.
A nod is given to Axiom. "Well, let me know. I can at least move stuff around or help with anything involving energy," the teen says. The exchange, of course, is noted by the woman, but she doesn't say anything about it. The metal was certainly odd-looking though. It didn't look familiar to her at first glance.
There's a slight nod at Jocelyn as Hawkeye accepts the phone, before she motions to the rather sizable note that is stuck on the front of each of the computer monitors, indicating that there's going to be a 'team meeting' on Wednesday April 25th.
"That's what those are about. Our Spider has some.... Stuff he's willing to give the team thanks to his other connections. I have my reservations regarding it, but this is something that the whole team should decide on. /ESPECIALLY/ after the last time someone tried to 'upgrade' our computers, and took them and our limited security down doing it."
Then though there's a pause.
"And Channel it is then." is said as the phone is connected to the computer, and a program is run. It's a quick thing though before the phone is disconnected and handed back.
All though as that stuff is offered by Eddie, she blinks and stares at it for a moment or two.
"Woah."
When gestured towards the computer, Axiom peeks over. "R-right! I'll be here," he says. He's excited even. "I c-c-can bring some snacks if you want," he offers. He listens quietly as Hawkeye mentions upgrades and winces slightly at the mention of the previous upgrades. He grins at the reaction from Hawkeye. "They're from Svartalfheim. I picked them up on my way b-back from the whole kidnapping thing with Malekith."
It's probably a good thing that Kate is wearing her 'sunglasses' as Eddie explains that. Because she just blinks. Slowly at all of that. And makes a note to have a certain someone check these out. That is unless...
"Has Wiccan taken a peek at these yet? If only to make sure there isn't anything extra that could cause an issue...?"
And yes, there is a slight glance at Jocelyn as the female archer asks that,
Axiom shakes his head. "I d-didn't ask him but Thor and Sif didn't say anything wrong was with them and the one I got shot with just hurt a lot. They're just really strong arrows," he explains.
There's a slight nod at that, "I see." is said as Hawkeye moves over and slowly picks the arrows up, examining one of them.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I still want him to check them out. Just to be on the safe side. Plus if he found out you gave them to me and he didn't get a chance to see them... Well, you know how he'd react to missing a chance to geek out."
Axiom nods, laughing a little. "Well I saved the armor I b-b-borrowed for him to look at but okay," he replies with a grin. "I still can't figure out h-how they did all the stuff they did with those helmets on. I c-c-could barely see out of it and it made everything sound weird..."
Jocelyn glances over at the arrows herself. "There's a little bit of residual magical energy attached to them, but it reminds me of when someone passes through a portal". Joceyn has been through enough portals in her lifetime to have some frame of reference for that. Such as Sif taking her to Asgard recently. "I can't see anything otherwise different about them, aside from the metal not being familiar to me".
The woman had been quiet, listening in on the discussion so far, just getting a feel for the place. "I haven't seen any sign of this Malekith you mentioned to me the other day, Axiom," she adds. She'd been keeping an eye out, but no weird magic users had cropped up on her radar lately.
...And that energy sight, or what ever Jocelyn just used is pretty damned impressive. In fact Kate lets out a bit of a low whistle at that, before she chuckles and shakes her head at Eddie.
"Armor is always tricky. Trust me on that."
Then though, there's a glance at Jocelyn.
"But to get back on point... I take it you're in then?"
"I do," Axiom chimes. For a moment, he lets some of that nigh endless faith and hope shine through in Hawkeye's direction. He trusts the archer for sure. "The Dark Elves w-wear a lot of purple too," he adds. When Hawkeye asks that question of Jocelyn, Axiom turns his gaze her way and waits for her answer.
"You want me to clean that energy off them? Only take a second," Jocelyn asks. Since Hawkeye seemed disinclined to have tainted arrows, so to speak. It would be a relatively simple thing for Jocelyn to do, honestly.
"Yeah, I'm in," the woman adds, finishing off that soda. "Armor is a pain, yeah. Heck, just a costume has proven tricky for me. I should really figure that one out," the woman says. Usually if she was officially working, she had her X-suit, but she wasn't going to wear that for Young Allies stuff. Different teams and all that jazz.
Someone really needed to open a Superhuman Costume Shop. It'd be useful.
And if anyone ever wanted to finance said shop, there's at least one person in this room who'd be willing to finance it.
But anyways...
At the mention of the color the night elves wear, Hawkeye nods slightly, and even lets a slight smile cross her face as it's noted.
That is before there's a head shake at Jocelyn.
"No. But thanks."
Then a hand is held out.
"And welcome to the team."
"Wiccan m-might be able to help. He made my costume after he helped me design it with his Starkpad," Axiom chimes in. A grin then spreads across his face as Hawkeye gives that welcome. He'll wait to see if it's accepted before moving to offer a welcome hug. He's enthusiastic.
"Thanks," Jocelyn says, taking the offered hand with her own gloved hand and shaking it. She releases the woman's hand before Eddie comes in for the hug. Jocelyn smiles and gives the guy a hug. "Thanks Axiom," she adds, giving the guy a light pat on the back. "I'll chat with Wiccan about it, though I'm not much of a designer," she admits with a small laugh. She just needed to be able to conceal her identity, really.
"So, I see a few different rooms here. Mind giving me the penny tour?" she asks with a smile.
And just maybe Hawkeye knows what that grin means, because just as soon as the hand is shaken, she quickly steps out of the way.
"Of course. All though there isn't really as much down here right now as you'd imagine." is said as the female archer takes a moment to collect her thoughts.
"You saw the stair case and the mural. This could easily be considered our main base." is said with a wave of her hands. "Bathrooms are there." is pointed off to one side, before she motions at one of the train cars. "Guys sleeping car for when they need to crash here." Then at the other car. "Ladies car if you ever need to crash here."
Then she starts over towards the 'ticket booth', or to be more exact, a door behind it.
"If you need to cook anything, the 'break room' has the basics. As well as a Kurieg."
Axiom just grins wider as the hug is returned, bouncing with fanboy energy. New Teammate! He's all energized. Bad guys beware! As Hawkeye explains the rooms, Eddie nods enthusiastically. "The bathrooms have showers in them n-n-now thanks to Speed. And the tunnels are good for training most stuff. I still c-c-can't believe how awesome this place turned into after how it used to be."
If only one coud harness fanboy energy...wait, no. Bad idea. Jocelyn nods as Hawkeye points out the various things. Simple and efficient. She seems rather at home in a setup like this. It was a lot better than some of the places she stayed growing up, that was for certain.
"Alright, good to know". A nod is given with regards to the tunnels. "Yeah, the tunnels would make for pretty reasonable training," she agrees, looking down them as she thinks things over. Good for launching her bolts for certain. Bursts...eh, maybe not a great idea. She didn't want to cause structural damage, thanks. "And having a good coffee option is important if there's an early morning or late night reason you're down here," Jocelyn comments with a knowing smile. She's seen enough late nights.
"Some of the tunnels sort of are set up for training. Or at least have targets and other things set up." Hawkeye admits.
Then though she points at the TV. The relatively huge flat screen one. Where it's probably best to not ask how it got down here.
"Feel free to watch what you want, and use the computers and other stuff when down here."
"Any questions?"
Of course then Kate just has to shake her head at Axiom. After all, if Speed keeps trying to do things like upgrade the computers and install showers, just what can Scarlet Spider really 'offer' the team for 'upgrades'?
Axiom just smiles as Hawkeye explains those last bits and asks if there are more questions. He's happy to try to answer any if they exist.
"Seems pretty straight-forward to me. If I have any, I'll let you know," Jocelyn says. "Though I probably need to get moving," the woman says, glancing at the time. "Have a few things I need to finish up tonight". Like an essay for class. Ahh, have to love the whole student by day, hero by night thing. Wrecks grade point averages pretty well, that!
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