10604/An Unbiased Opinion

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An Unbiased Opinion
Date of Scene: 28 March 2022
Location: A WayneCorp Warehouse
Synopsis: Cael approaches Phoebe with a question. It turns out Jon is not full of shit.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Cael Becker




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Set Up had wrapped. Everyone had returned to their bodies. Phoebe had arranged for food to be provided in little paper lunch-sacks with sandwiches, crackers, and little bags of fruit with fancy flavored bottled sparkling waters, because that's what people do at various Wayne-owned enterprises during terribly important business meetings. She herself didn't have a bagged lunch prepared, but was walking a bit quietly away from the group in order to start some clean-up in the prepared room, standing in front of the salt circles she had etched into the ground, and looking warily at the amount of cleaning she would have to do.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael nibbles at the food in the bag, chatting idly with Jon, and with Sara, and watching as some in their party begin to trickle off. She watches as Phoebe moves away from the group, and then with a silent gesture to Jon, follows after.
    Once she seems fairly certain no one is within hearing range, she asks the younger woman simply, "Hey. I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question - get a more unbiased response. I mean, Sara and Jon have already shared what they think, but..."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... is it goche to use roombas to clean up ritual use salts?" Phoebe can be heard asking herself, and she actually gives a minute start as Cael comes up behind her, and she turns, eyes going wide. She's wearing glasses now, and they definitely make her look like a nerd jocks would beat up in highschool. Her dark eyes blink in surprise at Cael, but she gives a nod.

    "As unbiased as I can be." she replies, and she slips her hands behind her back. "What can I do to help, Cael?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I mean. I have a hard time imagining a better use for a Roomba, personally," Cael says in a dryly amused tone. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her jacket, silent for a moment, as she considers the mess left by the protective circles.
    "Jon seems to have it in his head that I'm being a bit dense. That my insistance that this 'Justice League Dark' thing is for magic users is short sighted, and I should get over myself and stopping claiming I'm //not// a member." Her gaze is on Phoebe now, as she watches the woman for her response.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That's a very curious thought -- the Justice League Dark being for just magic users..." she trails off, eyebrows rising up as she looks over Cael. She has a very mild look on, a little amused. She turned to face Cael head on.

    "Perhaps a little background is in order? The Justice League Dark *used* to be called The Night Brigade. I helped found it with my dads, Chas Chandler and John Constantine -- just..." she holds up a hand, "Not the current Constantine, that's... a bit of a story, and..." she reaches up and touches something below her collarbone, "not important at the moment. We were stretched pretty thin, so my dad put out a notice -- if you wanted to learn magic, or fight what goes bump in the night, you were in. Mutants, magicians, faeries, witches, and normal people. That was the Rule. Anyone Can Join, and should be able to." Phoebe gives a kind smile to Cael.

    "That's all membership required. Red Robin doesn't have any powers. He augmented with his brains. If Sara didn't have the Witchblade and still wanted to be part of it, we would have let her. She's probably a badass on her own with a gun. If I were to lose my magic, I'm still a martial artist and medic." she continues, and she walks around the circle, clockwise, considering.

    "I suppose a better question would be, Cael--"

    She stops and turns, looking over to Becker.

    "Do you *want* to be part of the Justice League Dark after this is all done?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, Jon's gone into that a bit," Cael remarks a bit dryly when the 'other' Constantine is mentioned. "I gather things were... a bit rough," she remarks, without commenting on the way the woman touches her chest. She falls silent to continue listening, a faint frown pulling at her features.
    "I suppose I just- well. If not for what Michael did to me - it's not something I would have considered being a part of," she remarks simply. "But I suppose- well. It's not like I would be very likely to say 'no, fuck off,' if my help were needed," she says bluntly. "I just- all this is not something I really know very much about. But Jon seems to find that perspective //helpful// somehow. Yay for ignorance."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... they still are." Phoebe replies in a quiet whisper, and she takes a moment to stabilize, closing her eyes. Tears were beginning to form at the edge of her vision, but these she takes off her glasses and tries to wipe away without it being obvious.

    She looks back over to Cael once it was done, replacing her glasses, and she gives a wry smile.

    "Instead of 'Ignorance', more..." she cants her head to the side slightly in thought, pursing her lips, " grounding, maybe? I'm sure you've noticed that Sims has a tendency to let things run away with his attention and probably occasionally forgets to do things like 'eat' and 'drink something non-caffinated'."

Cael Becker has posed:
    If Cael notices the tears - she doesn't comment, glancing down at the salt instead, and scuffing it with her toes. She's not the most 'in touch with her feelings' sort of women, and it leaves her rather at a loss of how to respond to things, at a time.
    "I don't think he meant that I remind him to eat," Cael replies in a dry tone. "He meant more - my insistance on things like concrete plans. Talking things over, making sure everyone's on the right page, and knows what their role is. All this... off the cuff 'and then we go to Du'at and get Jon back, end of plan' //bullshit// is-" Her tone is rising, and she has to visibly rein in some aggitation. "...rather aggrevating," she concludes wryly. "I swear, that nonsense really pisses me off."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Then you know it's not Ignorance that he values for, but what you demand of him. Planning. Something solid that you can look at and turn over." Phoebe points out. A couple of guards have noticed that Phoebe and Cael are apparently having an impromptu meeting, and someone brings in a couple of steel folding chairs. They may be hoping for a fight.

    "And you've told Jon this, I assume?" Phoebe asks, her eyebrows drawing upas she accepts the chair, opens it, and sits down.

    The salt crackles a little bit. Residual energy.

    "It can be very frustraiting. Jon and I operate on very different levels, and you might have noticed --" Phoebe gives a slight wince "... we don't see eye-to-eye on things. It seems to me that he sometimes forgets that not everyone is at his level -- or at his comfort level."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well, how many people have literally embodied the great sun god, Ra?" Cael remarks in a dry voice. "Pretty select crowd, I'd say." She smirks slightly, then grows more serious.
    "Yeah, we've talked about all this stuff. I'd say though- he doesn't consider 'his level' to be all that high. He's still pretty new to magic. He's only been the Archivist for a matter of... months. Even if he did dabble in weird cult shit before that. ...not my story to tell." But it's seriously messed up.
    She eyes the offered chair, but makes no move to actually sit in it. After lying flat on her back for a while, she was more than happy to be up and moving a little.
    "Anyways. I just wanted to get your opinion on if I should... get over myself and listen to Jon. Or if he was full of shit."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a flat expression. "And I hold a spark of primordial light from gods before Ra. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. And Jon is full of it, in six months he's grown faster and stronger than most do in lifetimes -- I *know*." Phoebe states, "Because I asked."

    She then goes to stand up.

    "You are welcome to stay in the Justice League Dark, but ultimately it is /your/ choice on where to focus your energies and no one else's."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah. I know. And I have been leaving myself a little stretched thin, but thankfully Chief Carter seems to have a 'well, if you're doing good that's what matters' mentality. And the FBI seems to think that as long as I stay on top of things with the Avengers..." Cael gives a shrug of her shoulders, hands still shoved into her pockets.
    "But like I said. If I get asked to help, and I think I can..." Or if she thinks Jon's idiot ass needs someone to watch it for him...
    She's silent a moment, uncertainty on her features before she asks hurriedly, "Look - you sure you're alright? I mean- I could always get Jon if you needed someone to talk to. Or I could get-" She turns to look at who's still around, watching Bear staring at Jon's food with a hopefully expression on his dopey face. "Yeah, Jon. Or Bear. I could loan you Bear for a little bit."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a slight smile at Cael, and shakes her head. "Jon's too close to the subject matter, I'm afraid." she slips her hands behind her back again. "and I have Idu waiting for me back at..." she trails off, and her expression softens, "where I'm staying."

    She leans over and closes her chair, and picks both it and the one brought in for Cael up.

    "For what it's worth, I'd like you to stay in, in between SHIELD and FBI if you find the time." she gives a smile. "Just leave me out of the reports, though. Carter terrifies me."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "God, I wouldn't want to be on her bad side," Cael agrees. "...but I don't think you have any cause to be worried about her. She's- well. She's the epitome of Good People. You know? Hell. When I went to tell her Jon was was dead... She sternly commanded me to eat some God damned food and go the fuck to sleep."
    She pauses momentarily. "...I'm paraphrasing, clearly." Carter doesn't talk like that. And if she did, she'd use something more... bloody British to express herself.
    She nods towards Phoebe as she adds, "I guess I'll stick around. If- ... if you did need someone to talk to, though, I guess I could listen," she offers a bit awkwardly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No, no, I'm pretty sure you're not paraphrasing there. That sounds *exactly* like what I imagine she said to you and you actually *listened*, which is a marvel in itself."

    At That, Phoebe gives a bright smile, her nose wrinkling slightly at the bridge. She's got a dimple.

    And at the offer to listen, Phoebe smiles, and she turns to Cael.

    "Do not pour from an empty cup. You are still in recovery yourself; you need Time to process everything. Up here?" she taps her head. "One of my Dads is still keeping an eye on me. When I'm ready, when I've got him Home and he's seen Geraldine, I can take the mask off and contend with mourning John and my mom. Until then?" she shrugs.

    "I'll leave those who need the help currently to get it. It'll keep."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...she's my boss," Cael replies with a shrug of her shoulders. Makes it hard to refused. "Besides which - she's //Peggy Carter//."
    Her expression grows more serious - but she replies with a nod of understanding. "I'm doing alright, honestly. Back down to therapy once a week. Been able to back off my meds. I mean - I've got Bear, and Jon to support me - and vice versa." No, Bear doesn't need any support.
    "If you're sure, though... I'll leave you to Roomba up your salt." She gives the woman a nod, and turns to walk away, rejoining Jon who murmurs a question at her.
    "Apparently you are not full of shit," Cael replies simply - giving the man a brief kiss before sitting beside him, and letting Bear crawl his way into her lap. "Good boy. Who's a good boy?" she asks, scratching at his head and shoulders, with a relaxed smile on her features.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe walks Cael out, and gives a smile as she leans against the doorway.

    "He's so unbearably lucky to have you, Cael." Phoebe states as the group walks away, and she then turns around and looks back to the salt. She reaches into the pocket of her jacket, and dials a number.

    And then with a very digital 'Ride of the Valkyre' chime, the roombas descend.