10109/Normal Day for Meetings

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Normal Day for Meetings
Date of Scene: 13 February 2022
Location: Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis: Daniel Ketch, directed by the Ghost Rider, meets with a member of the JLD, and is both surprised by her age and stark admissions. Phoebe makes acquaintance with Dan, and gets a hand fixing her motorcycle.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Daniel Ketch




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There once was a bar that was associated with the British man with a poor attitude, worse bedside manner and probably a whole Host of issues at current (considering his best mate is currently a door on the Silver City of Heaven. It's a moderately okay day -- bit on the chilly side of things, but the way that The Curio faces blocks some of the wind.

    And, in the largely empty street that's still damaged from other battles, scorch marks and burns in the pavement remaining along with the odd hoofprint, the daughter of the door was at work. Her braids were pulled back and held in a beanie, she was wearing a light jacket and mechanic's glove, and has the engine of a 1987 Yamaha Virago partially taken apart and being carefully cleaned out, everything being laid out on paper and marked.

    Looks more like surgery than a bike repair.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The street is mostly quiet. In fact, it has not been this quiet in... maybe never. So the sound of an approaching motorcycle can he heard from the distance. And there is a touch of otherworldly in this particular motorcycle engine that not everyone can hear.

He comes swiftly, disregarding human law or the wreckage on the streets. Riding over it or through it, as it is more efficient. The Ghost Rider is not a creature that likes to waste time, because there vengeance is always needed somewhere, and he is always looking for a cause. Almost always.

It is generally a very bad thing when the Spirit of Vengeance looks for you, but if he is slowing down the flaming motorcycle, instead of trying to run you over, it might be good news. In fact, he fully stops a few yards from Phoebe and studies her with his hollow gaze for a few seconds.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    No, it's generally not a good thing when a Ghost Rider comes searching for you, and Phoebe could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise up as something supernatural approaches. She looks to the bar, with its wards still active to keep people out, and she braces herself, rising to a stand to regard the the Spirit of Vengence as he makes his approach, the teenager bracing for a fight, but keeping as collected as she can.

    "Good afternoon." she greets him, her fingers curling into loose fists at her side. A little bit of fear that a reckoning for her actions during the last leg in New York was due to her, she breathes out evenly.

    "Something I can do for you, sir?"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
There was probably something polite to answer when greeted with a 'good afternoon' but what was it? It has been decades, maybe centuries, since the last time he had a normal conversation, and the Ghost Rider's memory is not very good. Instead he climbs off the motorcycle and looks around briefly. Then nods to Phoebe.

The fire of the bike goes off, and he stumbles forward, falling on a pile of shattered brickwork. And cursing. There is some muttered cursing. But the Rider is gone and in his place there is an auburn-haired young man wearing a battered coat. He probably needs a shave. "Well, great... at least this is still New York," he looks around, and spots Phoebe. "Er... hello?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Well. This one is not Johnny. She's seen his picture.

    Phoebe does hop forward though, reaching out to try and catch the man in the battered coat before he hurts something important, like his face.

    "Easy, take a breath -- don't suppose you can answer grounding questions off the top of your head after... being on fire." Phoebe states, crouching back a moment, one hand on the brighs, the other still out to make sure that he doesn't fall forward again.

    "Not often I get to see one without the fire." she greets the newcomer with a smile.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel grunts, "the things one gets used to," he notes. And the things one will can never get used to... there are a few. "Daniel Ketch, we meet briefly at that Shadowcrest place. You probably don't remember. I was in the back, looking incredulous and shit." He struggles to stand up, breathing slow and deeply. "Then I think you were there at Battery Park. I don't remember all HE does, though. Just snippets, sometimes."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Aah, yeah the Shadowcrest meeting was a bit chaotic, please forgive me for not recalling off the top of my head." Phoebe gives a kind smile, slightly embarrassed as she shifts her weight. "And that depends onw hich Battery Park battle. Lots of stuff happened there." she plays down herself, rubbing the back of her neck as she draws back to a stand. She's a good deal shorter than him, and she takes her hat off and shakes her braids free a little bit as she exhales.

    "Nice to meet you outside of a crisis, regardless. Do you prefer Daniel, Dan, Danny? Or Mr. Ketch?" she asks, and she looks about "I don't have much in the way of offering a guest at the moment, but I can at least offer coffee if you want some?"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"God, anything but Mr. Ketch," and here he goes taking god's name in vain. Fortunately no angel comes to smite him today. "Yes, coffee. Please. No idea which one of the Battery Park fights was. But I had no idea there were more than one, and I lost track of time because... well, the Rider was very active."

He fill follow Phoebe because the promise of coffee, although he stops to take a good look at the dissembled bike along the way.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There's a wave of her hand, and the partially disassembled bike takes on the appearance of a really ratty bush, jagged thorns and everything. Phoebe steps up to the building marked 'The Curio' in fancy text and brings out one of those boxes of coffee you can get from certain donut shops, and a couple of paper cups with cardboard rings, and she pours.

    "I take mine black, so I apologize for the lack of cream and sugar -- but at least this shop doesn't burn it to all get-out." she explains, offering the first pour to Daniel as she sits down on the steps.

    "Battery park's a popular place for fights. Over the summer I had to get help closing a real big tear in reality there that another mage was using to catch people between our world and the Astral and steal their life force. Messy business." she explains, pouring herself a cup in a reusable mug that has WORLD'S OKAYEST HEALER on it, and she settles.

    "Yeah. Can't imagine why a Rider would be active in a big fight with angels and everything. So... official introduction. I'm Phoebe -- last name is complicated, Phoebe's fine, I reply to that. I'm a student and paranormal investigator-slash-exorcist-in-training. Pleasure to meet you, Dan."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Black coffee is fine for him. He is not even adding whiskey to this one because he is still dizzy from the transformation. "Nice to meet you, Phoebe. Mechanic, supernatural detective and saddled with the family's vengeful flaming skeleton of doom," he grimaces. "And last name... yeah?" He looks curious, briefly. "Anyway. Somehow I got invited into this Justice League Dark outfit and I never got the memo. But the Ghost Rider thinks you are the person to talk to. No, I don't know why, he just... believes it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah. Complicated. Adoptions three layers deep, assigned and assumed names -- what a mess." Phoebe cracks a joke, giving a wave of her hand. "So, just Phoebe's fine."

    She does, however, raise an eyebrow. "So your Ghost Rider entity is hereditary?" she questions, and she actually, gets slightly excited about that "It seemed to be indicated that it was a chosen or fated roll or contractual obligation ins ome research but this is the first I've heard about something as complex being *hereditary*." she pauses, and rubs the back of her neck a moment, exhaling.

    "My healing powers are hereditary as well. I've got a Primordial Spark, some time between 'Creation' and 'Existence', something in ancient Egypt stole a bit of the beginning of the universe, and it's been carried in my family for something like six thousand generations." she jokes, and leans back on the step.

    "Well. The Justice League Dark began as The Night Brigade, just a bunch of supernatural and adjacent people who started fighting against things going bump in the night. Demonically possessed washing machines, supernatural crime, evil sorcerers. A bunch of us ran the gamut between 'possible cosmic entities' and 'hey guys I found this weird book'. My original mentor ran that... but then he kinda had to make a quick exit a little bit after we officially joined as the goth little brothers and sisters of the Justice League Proper."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Adopted too, uh?" Mutters Daniel, sipping the coffee. Then listens to Phoebe's story. "That a lot of time, do humankind have six thousand generations? Weren't we apes back then?"

Biology is not his speciality, anyway. "But yeah, it has been with my family since the seventeen century. In fact, it seems he is an ancestor that got transformed. I don't have the whole story yet. But my mother was the previous host."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "In theory, yes, that's something like forty thousand years." Phoebe points out, "So that's... old Atlantean? They were a culture back around that time. And a lot of magi claim some sort of Atlantean descent, apparently, but I've only got what my mother's people wrote down. And a lot of it's only abotu five thousand years old or so." she gives a shrug, and leans forward.

    That is actually pretty cool. Do you happen to know if he just likes to keep to familiar hosts, or is there a bloodline connection that strengthens the Spirit?" she asks in curiosity, and thenr ealizes that could be taken personal.

    "Ah, you don't have to answer that, sorry, Dan."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel shakes his head. "I don't know. You could try to ask HIM, I am sure he has some answers, but he is not very talkative past giving ultimatums or dramatic announcements."

He finishes the coffee and adds, "I am interested in this League because I think maybe someone will have those answers. Hmm, and the Justice League is one of the great teams. Far bigger than me. The kind I would think would want to put the Rider in a jail."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Having worked with a couple of Justice League founders..." Phoebe begins, and her smile is in earnest, it's warm, and acknowleging the concern Dan has, "... I don't think they would want to put the Ghost Rider in any sort of Jail. There is a place for... I don't know if you could call them antiheroes... divine harbingers of revenge..." she leans back, her lips pursing a moment. "From what I gather, The Ghost Riders serve as Punishment for crimes bigger than stuff like jaywalking, and seek for some sort of... equilibrium. Obviously, murderers and purveyors of violence would be punished." she pauses a moment, and she tilts her head up "People like my previous mentor. Abusers, charlatans who steal money from old ladies maybe?" she wrinkles her nose, but then waves the thought away.

    "In any case -- Wonder Woman, Batman, they wouldn't be chasing after the Ghost Rider."

    She sips her coffee.

    "... that's kinda what the Justice League Dark is for. We do the chasing, capturing, containment. Or destruction, in case of stuff like vampire dens?" she offers as a half explaination, and she gives a wry little smile.

    "... well. What are your questions?"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"He gets fired up when 'innocent blood is spilled'," 'fired up'? Daniel even made a joke. "But there is no fair trial, and his judgement is merciless." Hence he offends most modern sensibilities. Noble Kale was a Puritan born four centuries ago, and it shows in the attitude of the Rider.

There might be a time the Rider needs to be contained, and Daniel is well aware of it. And he has been particularly angry after the battle of Battery Park. "Maybe the League can make sure he doesn't cross the line," he suggests.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe narrows her eyes at the pun, and she cracks a small grin.

    "Innocent is relative. I technically cavort with demons and have abused blood magic -- with my own blood, mind you -- and destroyed parts of my body in order to save Manhattan and destroyed a landmark in the process of it all. Fear is just another tool in my toolbox to be used to steer things in a different direction. I acknowledge my hands aren't the cleanest... that comes with the work I do. And the prices I've paid to learn magic." she explains quietly, and she breathes out.

    "But rest assured, Dan, if things get out of line, there's always a containment protocol we can use. I learned from the best on that front, to have backup plans." she explains, and she sips her coffee.

    "For instance, the plan to contain me requires null-matter introduction."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Null what?" Daniel shakes his head, "never mind, where is the gang gathering? The Hall of Justice in Metropolis? Do I get a passcard or something?" Or would the Rider get it? Daniel would be rather amused if someone films the Rider using a passcard. Or even an old-fashioned key.

He doesn't even know most of the team members, really. First time there was not much time for socializing. Second time it was in the middle of a battle, and it was the Ghost Rider punching angels.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ah, right now we've kind of gotten a room at the Oblivion Bar, with thanks to its owner Papa Midnite--" Phoebe's nose wrinkles, and she motions backwards. "This used to be our main hang-out spot, the Laughing Magician. My dad owned it, but... he's gone now." she explains, and she gives a shrug. "Used to be that in the Night Brigade we all had some sort of amulet. Pretty sure it'll be keycards or something more modern, and it would be to Daniel Ketch, ay-kay-ay Ghost Rider and cross-referenced in some private on-site computer base so that we know if it's you or the other one who passed through." she replies in consideration. "I don't think we have access to the Hall of Justice unless we're invited by the actual league. We're the team that does the stuff they can't."

    Phoebe gives a quiet, dangerous grin then, leaning back and steepling her fingers. "Notice neither Jon nor myself did any interviews or acknowleged who we were beyond association with the League."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"I did notice, but I thought it was skipped because the invasion," Daniel gestures at the battle-scarred street. "Honestly, it feels an 'I wouldn't want to join a club that wants me as a member' kind of thing. But I feel I would be an idiot not to at least pump you folks for information on the Ghost Rider." He grins weakly at the admission. "Not great experiences at meeting magicians," he comments. "Or team ups, I do know Blade a little."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "In all honesty?" Phoebe offers quietly, with a shrug of her shoulder. "I shouldn't be here. I'm still waiting on SAT scores and looking at classes at the University in Gotham in the fall. Jon's a MD. Zatanna is an immensely powerful spellcaster, and the Ghost Riders are Judge, Jury, Executioner levels of Judge Dredd." She gives a small smile "... but... as someone who worked so long without anyone else magical to ask questions to, I can definitely empathize with wanting to join a group specifically for informative purposes. No harm, no foul."

    And then she cracks a bright grin "But this meeting with a magician is going to swimmingly! I'm glad to be the outstandingly shiny exception!"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Well, you gave me free coffee," and Daniel is a bit surprised by the SAT comment. Phoebe looks younger than him, true. But would the Justice League recruit someone out of high school? Then again, he was around her age when the Ghost Rider got into his life.

"Oblivion Bar it is," and to his credit, he knows where it is even if he has never been inside. "I better get going..." he pauses. "Unless you need help with your bike, I am good with those."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe looks embarrassed. "That is a shockingly low qualifier for a good meeting. I also laughed at your jokes." she points out, and then she turns to the bush, and with a motion and a soft word she cancels the spell. She comes downt he steps as between breaths that bush turns back into a bike, and she gives a shrug. "It keeps idling out; fuel line's not blocked, and it's new as of last moth so I know it's not that. Air intake should be good."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
They were terrible jokes. Daniel sense of humor took a divenose with the Ghost Rider around. But motorcycles? He is still good with them. "Maybe the filter is damaged. I'll take a look, should take only a few minutes since you had it already... dissembled. Which might have been excessive, we'll see."