11905/The Aftermath

The Aftermath
Date of Scene:	06 July 2022
Location:	Jonah's Place (Bar and Grill)
Synopsis:	Gwen and Bando talk about the last few months of villain pursuit, and what it means to be a hero.
Cast of Characters:	Gwen Stacy, Bando George

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Gwen Stacy has posed:
So it was that their investigations unto what happened with Captain Stacy had culminated with the arrest of those few that were dealing the suits to the cops. And as for shooting a cop? Most likely one would squeal soon. Of course that it all had come with a price. A deal with cops that Gwen wasn't sure was the right move. But she had never been a paladin type. She was a vigilante after all..

Still, it was time to meet with Bando, talk about how things had went down. And as so Gwen calls him for a lunch over at Jonah's. It's a weird one as it looks mostly like a pirate ship. But that's New York for you!

Gwen has already arrived, sitting at one of the tables on the side and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. All very simple. And it's also rather hot so no need to complicate on the wardrobe too much.

Bando George has posed:
    When Bando shows up, he's in a green polo and cargo shorts. Almost...like someone might if they were on a date. His back pack is with him, containing probably his superheroing gear. He pops through Jonah's front door, immediately glancing around at the restaraunt's pirate theme. "Whoa, this place is epic," he says as he appraches Gwen at the table, sliding in opposite her. "How have I never even heard of this place before?" Then again, it's New York, there are a lot of places to hear about.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
A grin lights up the blonde's expression. "Have I ever brought you to a place that wasn't epic?" she retorts, letting out a brief chuckle at how Bando seems to enjoy the place.

"Come, sit. There's food aplenty to plunder I think." she winks at him and leans back on her seat, having finished to look over the menu and handing it across the table to Bando.

"So..." a beat, "How have you been after that adventure?" she asks, blue eyes studying the young man attentively, perhaps trying to gauge where's at on how they handled the situation.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando shakes his head. "I mean, it's epic if you're here," he says, following the wink. Maybe he's got a different idea about what's happening. Then she asks him about the adventure. There's a certain uncertainty in his face. "Oh. Uh, I'm good," he says. It's clear that he is mildly confused. He looks down at the menu for an escape. "I mean, it looks like your dad is in the clear, and...um, the bad guys are caught, that's what we were looking for, right?" he asks.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen arches a brow at Bando for a moment there when he says those words, perhaps unsure as well on what he thinks this is, "You look abit confused? What's the matter Bando?" a somewhat concerned look on her expression..

When the waiter comes by she looks up and her smile again returns, "I will have the special burger but no fries. Instead with a salad." there, at least it isn't all unhealthy. She waits for Bando to put his own order before she continues.

"They are. Or some of them at least.. Jericho and the others .., I am not sure how clean they are but .., they walk this time. But we will keep an eye out, if they abuse those suits we will intervene." she tells him with a nod. "I think Spidey is going to get the Doctor to work with Stark, might be a good thing that his uh .., inventiveness.., is focused somewhere.."

Bando George has posed:
    "Uh, nothin," the teen answers. "I'll get the Surf'n'Turf, mainly because it's fun to say," he tells the waiter. "But I do like fries." Bando nods to the waiter, handing the menu back. Once the waiter leaves and Gwen gives a state of the situation, he nods. "I mean, they are probably good cops, right?" he asks. "It all kinda feels weird though. I never thought that being a superhero would be this..." he seems to be lost a moment for words. "Gray?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Welcome to the gray side of the force?" Is what Gwen answers to Bando with a brief chuckle but then she shakes her head, "Nothing's simple in this life, Bando. And doing what we do..?" she lets out a sigh. "It's a lot more complex than finding bad guys and sending them to jail." and she certainly sounds like she has that experience from something in her past.

"There is a responsibility to our actions that come with these powers, or what we have decided to do. If we don't take them seriously then ...." She shakes her head again. "People die..."

Gwen rests her chin on one hand, elbow on the table as she talks with Bando. "Let me guess, it wasn't all you dreamed it would be?"

Bando George has posed:
    Bando shrugs, "Well, sometimes it's been pretty clear, like, if some alien monsters or zombies or crazy weird stuff out there happens, it might be hard, but it's simple. You know?" he says. "But with this, I kinda felt like I wasn't sure who the good guys were the whole time. There are things that are good, and there are things that are bad, you know? Sometimes stuff might be gray, but goals? They can be seen as black and white. It's the road that gets there," he explains, shrugging his hands. "I mean, were the cops right to go for those suits by teaming up with the dealers? Is that different from a sting operation? But it wasn't sanctioned. But what if there's crooked cops giving the sanctions, but what if it's not? What makes them crooked, and what makes them just...creative?" He puts his hands on his head. "Like, serious headache kinda stuff."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"It takes courage to pick up weapons against a menace. Against something, or someone, that you know wants to hurt others. Not everyone can do it, and not all threats are physical. It doesn't necessarily makes us a hero, but it's a start." Gwen's gentle smile on the young man.

"And then it gets complicated..." She talks from experience. Being Ghost Spider wasn't all sun and roses, wasn't just swinging from web to web. "But it's those kind of questions that make a hero, Bando." she pointing at him and pressing a finger to his chest briefly. "Asking yourself the tough questions. Finding responsibility on what you do, or what you want to do."

"I promise it will come more naturally in time, even if not easier." It was never easy trying to do good.

Bando George has posed:
    "It'd be nice if bad guys were like Saturday morning cartoons," Bando admits, looking down as the finger presses his chest. "You ever make the wrong call? End up helping the bad guys by accident? Like, what if we just made the wrong call? I know Jericho sounded like he really wanted to do good with that tech. Harold seemed to wanna do good with it. Of course those dealers were no good, but if these guys we helped end up abusing that power, do we hold a little responsibility?"

    He taps the table as the food arrives. "I mean, everybody is responsible for their own decisions, I don't mean like we did wrong because they chose badly. I mean, we got a responsibility of discernment if we're doin' this."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Yes." Gwen answers it without hesitation, lips pressed to a tight line, "I have done more wrong calls than I can remember. I have done the worst calls I can remember, I have lost..." she killed her own best friend. It has her stop, brushing some blonde hair from the front of those large blue eyes.

"And you know what? I am still here. Because a hero is a symbol of hope, yet if we can't feel hope ourselves? We are just hypochrites.. So I am still here, fighting."

She listens to what Bando says after and mmms, "We are always responsible for what we do. But we also can't force other people to do good, we need to show them how to. But that's a good way to put it, Bando. A responsibility of discernment."

She smiles at him and brings her food plate closer to her.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando laughs a little. "Well, I don't have trouble having hope," he says. "Got that from Christ, it ain't goin' nowhere," his normally muted Texas drawl comes out a little with the statement. "I just don't wanna mess up someone else's. But if God's for me, who can stand against, right? Maybe I'm putting too much on my own shoulders, gotta remember if I'm doin' what God wants me to do, he'll see it through even if I screw it up."

    He gives a satisfactory grin at the thought. "What about you? How do you feel about all this? I mean, your dad was shot, his cop buddies...may have done something that caused it, even if they didn't mean to. You okay?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"We all find those that give us hope." Gwen says with a grin back to Bando at those words. What was her hope though? "... or at least that's the idea. I am glad you are starting to figure it out Bando." her tone earnest. "Just know that you will trip and fall. But it's how we get up that matters, mmm?"

She starts digging into her food, taking a time to think on how to answer.

"Dad is going to recover." Her tone relieved, "I will be honest, I am not sure if I am fully okay with it all, or how they might have been involved even if they didn't pull the trigger. It's complex and I am not sure I have a good answer to it."

Bando George has posed:
    "Yeah, I think I'd feel pretty weird about it. We never even found out who it was that shot him." Even though Bando was right there. He takes some mayo from a packet nearby, opening it and garnishing his fries with it. Like the weirdo he is. "Sorry about that. It was all so crazy. I was literally right there, and I don't even have the answer for you."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Bando."

Gwen shakes her head at him, "It doesn't matter who it was. Not anymore. I wanted them brought to justice but ..., it's all because I didn't want to think about my father and what might happen to him while he was lying in that hospital bed. I will forever be a million times more thankful that my father survived than any pursuit of vengeance." she tells the young man.

"I think this is what I learned from all this. Or well, an important part at least."

She eyes the way Bando fills his fries with mayo. "Now let's eat before you need to ask for another packet of mayo!" she laughs. Gwen, the food critic.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando grins, "Glad to hear that," he says as he eats a fry. "Vengence may seem sweet and all, but it's kind of like cotton candy. It won't fill you up, and too much of it will make you sick." He picks up his burger. "Wait. Surf'n'Turf means there's FISH on my burger!?"