12502/Jackets and Patches

Jackets and Patches
Date of Scene:	19 August 2022
Location:	Level 4 - Recreation - The Roost
Synopsis:	Conner and Rose catch up until Gabby joins their game of pool
Cast of Characters:	Conner Kent, Rose Wilson, Gabby Kinney

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Conner Kent has posed:
It is Friday! And that means Conner is back to Gotham and the Roost. College classes don't start until early September, so he has been doing some traveling, but he is usually around the weekends anyway, which is where the Outsiders tend to hang out at the headquarters, barring emergencies.

Also, he is pleased to see the pool table is finally back. He heard Pixie used it as a teleporting projectile when the Roost was attacked by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. agents. Conner has no idea why everything else was fixed months ago, but the pool table was still missing.

This early, he would usually be in his room doing college homework. But hah! No homework for another two weeks. Instead he is sharpening his scarce pool skills. He never asked who wanted a pool table in the rec room in the first place, but... it is fun!

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose never really did homework, unless you count the occasional trip to the firing range or being dropped with nothing but a knife in the middle of Madripoor at midnight. Her class reunion would just be her and her father staring at each other awkwardly over a punchbowl.

She comes in to the rec room wearing a Tupac t-shirt over her slim frame, along with black tights. Her snowy hair tied back into a ponytail. And of course, the customary eyepatch, Luckily, her rapid healing means she's almost forgotten the broken bones she got after Phoebe landed on her from a great height a couple of days ago.

"Hey there, Con. Looking for fun, I guess?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"Rose," Conner peers in the young woman direction. He is wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the famous red S (lets call it his summer uniform). He didn't hear her come because he was concentrating in the game. "You guessed right, weekend is here and I hope so will be most of the gang." He pauses, leaving the cue stick leaning against the wall. "Good to see you still around, maybe you can pick the movies this time if we do another movie night."

He smirks faintly, then loses the smile when he realizes he can't even remember what kind of movies Rose used to like. She has been away too long!

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson leans against the side of the pool table, drumming frosted nails along the side of the thing. "Yeah, I guess a lot of them get the weekend off of school. I hope nobody needs any help on their science project. Or wants to make one of us their science project. Been there, done that," she says.

She looks back and forth in faux conspiratorial fashion, "If I light up a smoke, are you gonna narc? Or bitch at me? It ain't gonna hurt either you or me and I could use the rush."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Have you ever helped people with school science projects? Now I want to hear that story," replies Conner amused. "I am not going to report your smoking or anything, but it is not going to be a secret in a team where half the people have enhanced senses. And Tim will be frowny, maybe Pheebs too."

And probably no one else will care. It is Gotham. They are not going to die of lung cancer. Probably. If they do chance is it will be some variant of Smilex, not tobacco.

He stares at the pool table. "Want to play a bit? I am not very good, and I have yet to figure out how to use my powers for pool games."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson draws out an American Spirit and lights up with a silver zippo emblazoned with a skull, inhaling tightly and giving a slight grin. "Long as they do it after I'm done, whatever. Phoebe owes me tacos anyway since I kept her from breaking her butt in fairyland," she says. "There was a bee lady. She was a bitch."

She eyes him carefully, "You do realize that my probability powers mean that I basically can't miss at this. Like, we can play, but I'll just beat you straight up before you get a turn."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Hmm, you are not infallible," replies Conner, "unless you have improved your power a lot in the last couple years." He then grunts, "what happened with Phoebe? She got into trouble again. Sometimes that girl seems to have the survival instincts of a mad lemming," he comments with a touch of affection. They were probably worse when they started.

"Show me," he tosses her the cue stick and gestures to the table. There are a few balls left, none in a very good position to go into a pocket. The cue ball is too close to a side.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson sticks her tongue out, "You don't know I'm not infallible. And even if I do make the occasional mistake, I'm still way, way better than you. Provided you don't use your TT," she says.

Still, the challenge is taken up and she grasps the cue, spinning it casually around her wrist. "I can't turn it off, so I don't want to hear any complaints aouvt me cheating," she says.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I don't care about winning, I want to have some fun," replies Conner. Which is quite the change of how he was when they met. He was always trying to win and showing off. "Are you infallible now? Where have you been, Rose? We missed you. I was worried, I tried to find you a few times, and I like to think I was not the only one."

Not that he asked Tim. Maybe Batman was tracking her? He couldn't find anything in the Roost's computers either.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson focuses on the game for a moment. Maybe she just has gotten caught up in the act. Maybe she needs to concentrate. Maybe she doesn't exactly know what to say. Either way, she sinks one, two, three balls in rapid succession before she takes another long puff on her cigarette, rolling her neck enough to pop a vertebrae or two audibly.

"I know. I saw you guys, a couple of times. YOu didn't see me, though," she says. "I needed to get some things settled. And figure some things out. And I..."

She almost started to say something about her feelings, but she swallows that quickly. None of that for Rose Wilson.

"It was just something I needed to do."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Nice shoots," admits Conner, moving out of her way. "And yeah, figuring things... fair. Just send postcards next time," like he sends postcards when he travels. Er... well, no. But he sometimes sends pictures taken with his cell. That counts.

"You also missed some big, fun messes," he notes, "like the while N.O.W.H.E.R.E. thing. At least they are not going to bother us anymore. Oh, and I have an evil clone brother. He might be rotting in a SHIELD prison at the moment."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson gives a bored but bemused look, "Postcards. Right. Maybe I'll send a telegram on my way to buy you a .45 at the record store," she teases.

She nods, "I heard about some of that. Not the clone, though. That sucks. You've had to deal with enough of that mad scientist shit for a lifetime. You and me both," she says. "Lemme know if you want me to break in and kill him. I won't tell."

Conner Kent has posed:
"No, I said 'evil' but probably the guy was just brainwashed and programmed. Who knows? Maybe he will get better," Conner doesn't seem to believe that much, that wasn't very convincing. But he is trying to be more positive and less cynical lately.

"Gabby already stabbed him with Kryptonite," he adds with a wicked smirk. "That hurts like hell. I should know," because Deathstroke did that to him a couple years ago. "Wait, you had problems with mad scientists?"

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson considers, "If it's the first thing that goes in your brain, I'm not sure that's brainwashing. That's just brainfilling. So the only way to undo it isn't just to take out the bad stuff, but put something good in to replace it. Otherwise, it's just empty," she says. Doesn't sound entirely like she's completely talking about Match there, but you could never prove it in court.

"And good for her," she says. "Although if it'd been me, I'd have actually killed him. Just saying."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Tsk, you play by the rules in this team," replies Conner, gesturing Rose to keep playing. He is curious how many times she can pocket the balls before she misses one. "And Gabby had never killed anyone until recently. She is actually less... well, not quite like Laura. She is nice without having to try to be nice."

Contrarily to... well. She knows. His head was also 'brainfilled' by N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and he spent most of his life trying to ignore it.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson finishes her cigarette, pinching the ember between her fingers and dropping the remainder in the garbage before she lines up another shot.

"Don't stress your shield, I know the rules," she says. "Even if I do think they're antiquated. Sometimes solutions need to be permanent. But I don't have the energy to argue between you and Tim and Phoebe," she admits.

"I'm not nice, Conner. I never will be, no matter how much...washing I do," she shrugs. "Might as well own it."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Kindness can be learned," counters Conner. "We could have turned to be much worse we are, hmm? Half of the outsiders were created or raised to be nothing but living weapons." The basic argument is kind of old, but the points are new, because Conner is not really the same after N.O.W.H.E.R.E.

"I have been thinking a lot lately," he continues, "about how the world should be and how it really is. Becoming a reporter will allow me to hit problems I shouldn't punch, you know? If I start punching them I would never stop. Someone would have to stop me."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson shrugs, "I started punching a long time ago, Con. Punching and stabbing and shooting," she says. "And I get it. I'm not the only one who's got the burden of blood on their hands. Or a psycho in their head telling them that they'll never be any good. I get it. But a lot of times, it just feels like I'm faking it. Playing the hero. Like I'm just doing it to spite him,' she says. She doesn't have to say Slade's name to invoke his presence. She does that every time she looks in a mirror.

"Maybe I am. And maybe I can be a little good, a little kind. But can I be good enough? That...that I ain't so sure."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner chuckles, "you used to be a maniac little ball of rage, but also pretty fun to be around. Well... sometimes." Did she pocket all the balls? Well, Conner will go around setting them up for another game. "Can we go good enough? We are the ones that set the bar, right? Uh... and maybe Batman. But he has not kicked us out of the city yet."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson grins, "I can still be fun. And I still got plenty of rage, don't doubt it for a motherfucking second, Jacket," she teases. "You're the one getting me all introspective and shit."

"I kinda meant good in the good and evil sorta way. Play on words and all that shit. I'm never going to be a good guy the way Tim or you are. I'm just always gonna be the one-eyed psycho that everybody hopes doesn't go bad," she shrugs.

Conner Kent has posed:
"You could get a bionic eye, you know?" Which is sidestepping the conversation, but there are no rules, are they? "Sorry about the, uh, introspection thing. I mostly wanted to see how many balls you can pocket before missing one. Oh, and maybe some teasing when you finally miss one. Because poking fun at you never gets old." He smirks again.

Rose Wilson has posed:
She doesn't bother repsonding to the part about the eye. She keeps the empty socket to remind her of a lot of things. Maybe she doesn't need reminding, but there's some perverse pleasure in a person who heals everything carrying a wound that will never go away.

"See, the problem with that is, distraction just means I don't think about what I'm doing. if you want to make me mess up, you have to make me think about playing pool."

Conner Kent has posed:
"What? That doesn't even make sense," protests Conner. "The theory if is your mind is thinking about something else, you shouldn't have the brainpower to calculate the futures, or whatever is how it works." He did read the theories, but he is not sure if anyone has really figured out Rose's powers. "Distraction doesn't work like that, Rosie."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson shrugs, "I don't know anything about the science of it. It's just a zen thing. Not that I was ever good at meditation. Well, unless you count being a sniper. I feel pretty peaceful behind the scope," she says.

"Enough philosophical bullshit. You can break this time," she says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The sound of voices in the recroom lures Gabby in as she was passing by. Fresh from the training room (and a quick shower after), she's got a towel slung over her shoulders so that her hair doesn't completely soak into the shirt she's wearing. "My ears are burning," she states jokingly as she dips inside flashing a grin to the pair. "Hey. You two doing all right?"

Even as she asks her path veers toward the mini-fridge in the rec area to snag a Coke from the fridge. Not that the caffiene ever did her any good. "Who's winning?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"Hmm, zen distraction for an infallible super-power," Conner pfffs. "Make sense, since we are talking about you and your crazy head," he decides with a grin.

"Hey, Gabby. She can see the future, but sooner or later she will made a mistake, maybe," he grabs the cue stick and breaks hard, with balls bouncing everywhere. By random chance a solid one ends up in a pocket. But his follow up misses. "There, your time to show off."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson tosses the cue towards Gabby, "Take over for me, I'm gonna get something to drink," she says, going over towards the mini-fridge herself as she snags a Coke of her own. She'll add a little something from the flask in her pocket later.

"I don't have to prove anything to you, tough guy," she says to Conner. "I could beat you at this game with a toothpick, but I'm humble and beneficent and wouldn't want to hurt your feelings."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney had barely cracked open her own can when the pool que is thrown her way. There's not really any need to consider catching it--She just does. It's snagged out of the air, spun in her grasp, and flipped back to tuck under her arm as she approaches already sipping from her drink. "Mm. Solids or stripes? And who can tell the future?" A questioning gaze flits over to Rose with an eyebrow raising.

"I really feel like I missed a chunk of convo. I try not to eavesdrop. Plus it's pretty well sound proofed in here I have to admit," she mumbles the last with an upward tip of her head to the ceiling. She's at the table though gazing down at it uncertainly.

Conner Kent has posed:
"You didn't know?" Conner thought it was in Rose's file. If it is not, he will let the white-haired girl explain. "I pocketed a solid. But you know what? You two can play this round." Also, he also wants a soda. "I am going to text the gang to see who wants to watch movies in the private theatre tonight."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson has no intention of explaining anything. She likes being mysterious. Plus she doesn't really understand how her powers work any better than most other people, beyond the healing factor and some of the combat applications. And she doesn't feel like doing reps or letting anybody try to measure her powers in a training session. That's just nerd shit as far as Rose is concerned.

"If we're doing movies, I vote for 80s Arnie. Predator, Commando, Terminator...something good."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney shrugs faintly at that. "I read them once upon a time but it's been a year or two," she reasons while she leans over to line up a shot. "There's been so much going on lately I feel like I'd forget my head if it weren't attached. ... And given the healing factor that might result in another 'me' so let's avoid that."

Super well trained assassinette? Sure. Able to hit a stick with a ball? Not so great. She cracks into a solid sending it spinning awkwardly to bump into a few others just causing a little pile up.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Damnit Gabby, you are as bad as me," grumbles Conner. But he has soda, so it is all fine. "Oh, I have heard of those movies. I just avoid sci-fi and action movies because with my senses, they are just... well, they don't look very good."

He checks his Starkphone, though. Terminator might be a not go if Hope signs up. Too many killer robots in her life already. Maybe they could watch the Predator movies, there are... three. Well, maybe two of them.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson sighs at Conner, "it's all about attitude, Jacket. You've got to get in the right mindset and that mindset is that asses must be kicked and buildings must be blown up in the name of Ahhhhhhhhnold," she says.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"I never said I was good at this!" Gabby retorts with a little sigh. "I get that you have to hit at different spots to get different amounts of spin or no spin but I can't for the life of me ever hit the right spot." An angry gesture is made at the table as she steps away to lean against the wall waiting for Rose to take her turn.

"Popcorn flicks are called that for a reason. Mindless violence and awesome lines. There's no real need for anything else. Also," she adds with a grin, "I think Hope is okay with the Terminator movies if I recall."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner laughs. "Okay, fine. I'll go program the screen," he decides, "you watch Rose. Sooner or later she will miss the shoot. Should be back in fifteen anyway." He heads out, tossing the empty soda can into the thrash bin in his way down.