12067/On the Trail of Threats

On the Trail of Threats
Date of Scene:	19 July 2022
Location:	Battery Park City
Synopsis:	Jessica chases her quarry to Battery Park where Alex enlightens her on his power and the Fates. His coming back to SHIELD as an asset is discussed.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Jessica Drew

---

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The Food Truck Festival had been a bust. And the BLT hadn't tasted that great. All in all it was not a positive time. For it left thoughts and musings that left the young Olympian known as Alexander Aaron with a hint of distraction. Distracted by what passed, by the words given, by the transpired events. And while so distracted the steps of a traveler seem to take on a mind o their own.
    Blocks passed. How many was hard to tell for sure. He walked the walk steadily along 12th until eventually the terrain changed subtly. Less brownstones, more skyscrapers. Towering apartment buildings. Then... woods? Or a park.
    The river stopped him though. Battery Park it was called, curved around the edge of Manhattan like a small girdle against the growth of the grand city. It was little more than a few dozen trees, a theater for outdoor plays. A few playgrounds.
    It was on the latter that the God of Fear found himself. And likely when he was found by another. For he stood at the swing set, standing in the saddle of a red plastic swing, one foot holding him up while the other was angled back as his hands held the metal chains. Sloooowly he would drift back, and then sloooowly he would drift forward. The chains would clink, the hinges would squeak.
    Then he turned his head slightly when he felt that subtle shift in the framework of the world's fear around him. That slight change that might signal the approach of another. It's then that he spoke, not moving from his standing place on the swing.
    "Last time I was on a playground, I watched my father strangle a man with the swing set chain." Said with that deadpan tone of his, easily given, but thoughtful.

Jessica Drew has posed:
The police were sorted out. The SHIELD badge did a lot toward expediting questions and smoothing over suspicions about Cinque or Robert. Neither of the men were kept for very long after the police ascertained that they had not assaulted the men and were on the scene because they had overheard a ruckus in the Festival's office truck. They had all colluded on not telling the police how they had heard it.

No more police lights lit the park and calm had returned. Jess finally had the time to get some food on her stomach and mull over those words spoken to her by Alexander when he assumed his godhood. His godhood? And those were more than words but a threat of retribution.

A decision is made. The agent calls headquarters and asks for CCT footage from the last hour in a 10 block radius.

        Bingo.

Ten minutes later she drops to the outskirts of Battery Park after her quarry. He looks oh, so innocent swaying on a swing in the children's playground. The power of those words still ringing in her ears, she stops a few feet from Alexander at a teeter totter.

Equally deadpan from her seat on the plank, "Lovely role-model. Nothing I hope you are planning to put into effect."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Well no, not really." Alexander lifts his head up to look at where the metal chains are welded to the frame of the swing set then tilts his head to the side, as if trying to gauge how difficult it might be to break the chains and enact some strangulation. But then he looks back over his shoulder and he says, "Too much work."
    That said he drops off the rubber and plastic seat, both shoes thumping on the ground. That backpack is still slung over one shoulder and his hands slide into the pockets of his worn blue jeans as he affixes his pale-eyed gaze on Jess. "So what's up?"
    He asks as he wanders forward a little then leans against the leg of that swingset, quirking an eyebrow across the way at the SHIELD agent. "Need me to handle another heist for you?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
The Agent's eyes widen sardonically and she shrugs, "I felt some of it. That was pretty effective."

After toying with the hole in the knees of her jeans while she pretends to think, she looks up, "I've never seen you do that. Have you always been able to or...it was surprising, Alexander." Something of their past crept into those last words, softening them, leaching the suspicion and touch of fear making her so cautious.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander chews the inside of his cheek for a time as he looks to the side, one eye scrunching up as he nods, then a little slower but perhaps a touch deeper. More emphasis. "Yeeeah." He says eventually. Then shrugs with his eyebrows as he turns his head to look back at her.
    "Pretty much," Then an actual shrug comes form him as he causes that backpack to shift a little with that movement. "Ever since I became Phobos."
    A smile, then he looks off the other direction while crinkling his nose as if not entirely at ease. "First time was when I got back from Olympus, after the war." He slides a hand from his pocket and gestures to the side, fingers waggling a little. "Was in school. Started trying to lie low, but when you're young you're stupid." Which might be a curious thing to hear from him now.
    "Word got out, once people know some of them react by... trying to be brave. Act like it's nothing, no big deal, not afraid of anything. Some dared me to show them. Until eventually, at this party, I did. And it didn't go well."

Jessica Drew has posed:
As he narrates the gradual assumption of his powers, Jessica unfolds from her stiff perch on the teeter totter to nimbly drop off of it and close the distance between them. She takes a stance next to a seat and tests one of the chains. Her eyebrows knit faintly as she listens, worrying her bottom lip as she envisages what it had been like to return to school and keep a lid on his powers.

"Yeah, sometimes you need to find things out the hard way," she observes, voice low and non-judgmental. "It's a lot to take on. Were they alright? Are you?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Oh yeah," Alex answers in part, "I'm fine. They weren't so much," A hand lifts to gesture to the side as if it wasn't anything. Not a big deal. "Haven't looked in on them since forever. M'sure they're fine now."
    Which might not be entirely honest since some did not recover.
    Then his tone shifts as he murmurs, "What. Can I do for you, Agent Drew?" His brow furrows as he looks past her, eyes distancing for a time then looking back.

Jessica Drew has posed:
They are suddenly back on a formal footing. Likely the best tack to take. Anger had driven her search for him. Jessica did not like threats and had been rash at times in the past, trying to put a stop to them. She assumes a pleasant, professional demeanor to cover her doubts about his well-being.

"Fine?" she smiles to cover her doubt.

"I would like you to tell me what you meant when you said that I would pay for making you do what you did," an awkward way of saying, what did you mean when you said it was my fault that you scared the shit out of those men.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Those pale hazel eyes focus back on her and for a brief moment there's confusion. Then his lips part in a silent 'ah' unvoiced. He nods and looks to the side, eyes drifting away as he ponders, then looks back just out of the corner of one eye at her.
    "That's just how it is." He then perhaps sees some hint of disagreement, or can sense a roil in the tapestry of fear around them which has him explain all the more. "Not a threat." Alexander's nose crinkles as he looks to the side.
    "Prophecy." He sniffs a bit, as if clearing his nose and then exhales with a grumbling sound. "Fate."
    A deep breath is taken, "You made a prayer, in essence. Prayed to me. And I was there, and it fit. I could do something, and you had sway, a place of respect, and need."
    Shaking his head he looks back, "So you invoked, and I answered. And the words given to you were something akin from the Sibyl, or Cassandra."

Jessica Drew has posed:
After a long inhale, she audibly sighs and seats herself. Chewing the inside of her lips, she doesn't want to say whatever flies into her head. It is her first experience of feeling cautious around him. She shakes her head, mystified at how she had not sensed this in him before. On another sigh, she repeats with a hint of distaste, "Prophecy?"

She rattles the swing seat chain in mild frustration, "Since when is asking someone to help an invocation?" Something occurs to her and she looks up sharply at him, "You are going to have to warn people if you are ever on an operation with them."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "It's not something that happens all the time," Alexander's lip twists up, "If we recreated the circumstances again doubt it'd pop up. But it's one of those things when you have Greek Gods running around. They bring lots of baggage with them."
    He points at her, "You're just as much at fault, for being interesting, gaining the attention of the Fates." Then he makes a face, "And I was at fault for granting it." He takes a deep breath, "In any case..."
    He gives a shrug, "I'm not going to chase you down or make something happen. These things just happen. So no point in worrying about it."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Grabbing both chains, Jessica lifts both feet and leans backward, looking up into the night sky filled with the city's glow. "My fault for being interesting, is it? Should I become a dull bureaucrat to get the Fates off my case?" The question is asked lightly but carries an undercurrent of seriousness in it.

Straightening, she puts her feet on the ground and twists the seat to face him, "I believe you. I trust you if you say there is no point in worrying. Which," she points the finger of one hand still wrapped around the chain, "I hope was not a way of saying, que sera, sera."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Yeah," Alexander looks up at the sky and scritches fingers into the side of his shaggy head of hair. "It might not make sense now, might not be until some time down the line..." The young man's smile is a little wry, but a little gentle, as if understanding how crummy things can be when there's a Greek like himself around.
    "The Fates can be cruel, but they can also be kind. And there's no good in trying to second guess them." Which he says as he walks over and rests a hand gently on her shoulder, a small squeeze given as if trying to offer what support he can.
    And then he says with that same hint of wryness that breaks through his normally deadpan self, "Since they're really just assholes."
    Take that Fates.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Alex," she pats the hand on her shoulder and snorts faintly. "Way to reassure a person. Are you considering returning to operations in SHIELD?"

Jess cranes her head to look up at him, "I know how to suspend worry and stay in the moment. But you could really scare people shitless if the Fates speak through you. I mean...." Then, tilting her head back again to look at the sky, searching for her words, "You are quite a weapon."

She adds smiling faintly, "Besides all the other stuff. Looking like a god and being so full of yourself."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Better the truth than hollow reassurances," Alexander offers with a slight half-smile. Another squeeze given to her shoulder then he steps to the side to lean against the supporting bar that holds the legs of the swing set apart and up. He crosses his arms over his chest as he watches as she sits there.
    "If I could be of use, sure. I was thinking of going through training if I could. The Tactical Team training. Though I wouldn't want any weirdness... or special treatment." He makes a face as he looks to the side.
    Then back as he says, "The fear thing I can do, I just..." He lifts a hand to the back of his neck, frowns, then adds. "I just prefer not to if there's a choice."

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Yes, always, better the truth," Jess agrees, wistfully, sharing the faint smile.

When he leaves her, she twists the seat, tiptoeing, the chains crunching metallically, until she has cranked the seat up to her satisfaction. Feet held in front of her, the seat lurches and revolves in the opposite direction, slowing like a pendulum till she rocks in place.

"You would need to tell them, Alex. I will let you do that unless you want me to make a report. I think you would do well in tac training."

With a foot on the ground to stop her movement, she turns somewhat to face him, "You don't act weird, people won't act weird. And you would get no more special treatment than any of us. Inhuman, mutant or alien."

Jess tilts her head, nose wrinkling at the 'fear thing'. "That really seems like an option of the last resort."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I'm sure you've read the psych eval," Alexander says, then he stops and lifts his chin a little, "I mean there's a psych eval right?" Since he just assumed. But then he gives a small shrug and says, "In any case, I prefer to try and do things on my own merits. Less..." He waves a hand to the side, "Nature of my birth."
    Then he smirks and adds, "Says the trust fund college student." Fully recognizing that touch of hypocrisy there.
    Then he smiles a little and murmurs, "And of course I'd do good in tac training, I'm pretty great." A small hint at humor as he shakes his head. "But yah, could be a thing. Though I'd need to keep some autonomy since..." He looks away as he shakes his head as his voice grows with a hint of conviction, "Sometimes my time isn't my own, and I have oaths that I must honor."

Jessica Drew has posed:
Her expression lightens as she watches him come back to his wry, egotistical posturing. Now, that she understands what it covers, it grates a little less. Despite, her sense of relief, she says seriously, "Everyone trains on their own merits and is chosen to go into the field on their own merits. There is no favoritism when people's lives are on the line."

Challenging him with a smile, "Show them how great." The smile sobers as she says, "Tell them. Be an asset, not a full-time agent. You are not the only one to have responsibilities to other powers."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Then sure," Alexander furrows his brow as he looks toward the river, the scent of the ocean's waves not too far off and the occasional clang of a buoy heralds the middle of the night. "It would be nice to do something positive."
    With that said he gives a nod to her, "C'mon, I'll walk to you your subway station." And with that he pushes away from the swing set and starts toward the sidewalk that leads back to the madness of Manhattan.