12654/We'll Meet Again

We'll Meet Again
Date of Scene:	02 September 2022
Location:	Scooter's Pub
Synopsis:	Cael tells Steve she's leaving reality - and she turns down his very kind offer to bring the Avengers to her aid. Seriously, Steve.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Steve Rogers

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Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael waits in one of the booths - already with a glass of beer in front of her, and a plate of fried mozzarella sticks. Look - sometimes it's not about the noodles. Sometimes it's about the ooey, gooey, hot melted cheese. She dips on - taking a bite, and getting a pretty good cheese-pull out of it, whether she wants to or not. It's not the classiest look - but she doesn't seem to care. Curled up at her feet is Bear, his colorful vest on, and his head resting on top of Cael's boots.
    Nearby, a game of pool is in progress, and someone else is involved in a game of Pacman on an honest to God arcade machine. Some relatively chill rock music played in the background, interspersed with the sounds of multiple conversations.

Steve Rogers has posed:
    As old as the Pac-Man machine is, Steve's older; he still looks at it with some bemusement as he walks through the door and heads over toward Cael. He's likely to be recognized, but he doesn't really care. He heads for his friend and slides into the booth across from her, smiling.

    "Hey, Becker. You sharing that, or should I get my own?" He's already flagging someone down to order himself a beer.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Oh my God, Steve, not even here five seconds and you're boggarting the cheese?" Cael asks - but there's a grin on her features. "Help yourself," she offers easily.
    She finishes off the stick she holds in her hand, then picks up her beer for another sip, relaxing back into the booth. She'd picked the booth for a reason. Well - two reasons. One was that she just damned well preferred them - but the other was because- well. //Steve Rogers.//
    "How've you been?" she asks - her voice dropping a little as she adds sympathetically, "Sorry I've been so busy. I mean, I heard about Janet, and I'd meant to make sure you were alright and everything..."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve actually orders another basket of mozzarella sticks and grins, briefly at Cael, but the question makes the grin fade.

    "I'm alright," he says, quietly. "Better than I thought I'd be, really. It all happened so fast that I didn't realize what was happening until I'd done it. And then..." He sighs. "And then I was lonely, and sad, but... I dunno." He shrugs, and sits back a bit, holding a cheese stick in one hand.

    "We'd been together for years, but it wasn't... going anywhere, you know? Not her fault or anything, it was just... we never saw each other much lately, and..."

    He shakes his head, runs his free hand through his hair. "Relationships, y'know? They're weird."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "My boyfriend is married to a man," Cael remarks a bit flatly. "Yeah. They're pretty flipping weird. What you guys had was normal by comparison."
    She lets out a sigh then adds, "I shouldda been there for you. I mean, I know Sam sent out a message about going out for beers together but I was busy, uhh... dealing with some fallout from the full moon," she 'explains' without much context. "I would've been there if I could've."
    Then with a smirk she adds, "So. How much obnoxious fanmail are you getting of the 'now that you're available' variety? I bet that has to be intense."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Well, I mean--full moon, werewolf. Were... jacakal?" Steve grins. "Nah, look, it's okay, I mean... I went and had beers, but it wasn't..." He shrugs. "Janet's /way/ more broken up about it than I am. I'm the one that pulled the trigger, you know? It feels weird to grouse too much when she's hurting."

    The beer arrives and he thanks the server, then takes a long drink. Clears his throat. "Uhh... JARVIS screens all of that, so... I already always got a good amount, it's had an uptick, I... try to ignore that stuff. Part of the problem was, it's hard to really do 'relationship' with 'superheroing,' you know? Even when you fight alongside each other, someone's gonna be more invested in the job, and you grow apart. I hope you and your boyfriend and his... husband?... manage to get around that." A pause. "Okay, yeah, that sounds weird. Aren't you /jealous/?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Werewolf. Apparently the jackal thing wasn't entirely accurate."
    She tears one of the cheese sticks in half this time, before dipping it and eating it - before she continues. "Well. If anyone should be jealous - it should be Martin. He... kinda had dibs, you know?" she remarks wryly. "...he's actually been gone, though - in another dimension, because fuck if my life wasn't strange enough already. So I haven't had anything to be jealous //about.//" There's a brief pause before she adds, "But he just got us a message. I guess things aren't going great - where he is, right now."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Another dimension? Like another universe, like Chavez goes to? Or another... uhh..." Steve frowns. "At some point my life turned into a Saturday serial. Aliens and universe-hopping and magic." He shakes his head, but it's a good-natured gripe. He dips his mozarella stick and starts to eat it.

    "So... what's going on? Is that why you called to get together?" He raises his brows and takes another drink of the beer.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Sorta, yeah," Cael confirms. She frowns for a moment, lapsing into a brief silence, her gaze on her plate - but she shakes herself out of it to take another drink from her glass of beer. "Martin's asking for back-up. He wants me and Jon to come to- yeah. Another reality. Where there's magic, and no technology, ahd people send holographic messaged via //crystals.//" She lets out a sigh. "Jon and I can't leave quite yet. There's this shit happening that you really //don't// want to know about with ancient evil powers trying to take over reality - hopefully we've got it covered - and I've got the Pack to worry about," yeah, that's definitely the first time she's mentioned that...
    "But in the next couple months... we need to leave, and go help Martin, and we don't know how long we'll be gone."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "The Pack...?" Steve hesitates a moment. "I mean... I wouldn't /mind/ hearing about ancient evil trying to take over reality, if I can help, but if you've got it covered you've got it covered."

    More fried cheese arrives, and Steve falls silent until the server's gone. "Alright, why don't you tell me what's been going on. This Pack, and this other magic dimension, and... well... you're leaving, huh?" A pause. "If you don't know how long... sounds like a while."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Could be a while," Cael confirms. "It's been months for Martin already though- we think it's more like //years// for him? Time seems to run differently so- hey. Maybe we show up, win the damned war for them, and come back a week later." She pauses a beat before adding, "Probably not, though."
    Apparently the smell of more fried cheese has gotten Bear's attention - because a white head appears in Cael's lap, only to be shoved off with an amused grin on Cael's features. "Lay off - this isn't for you, Bear."
    "As for the pack - well. The, uhh... werewolves that gave this thing? They were being lead by some real dicks. The last guy in charge was creating werewolves that were just like... berserkers. So filled with rage, they couldn't control themselves, and he was setting them loose to attack people, to make as many werewolves as possible. You know - who cares if anyone gets killed? And people //were// dying. Real fun shit like that." She takes a sip of her beer before meeting Steve's eyes and adding, "So I killed him, and took over the pack."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "You're really just... picking up and going off to some magical world at a moment's notice?" Steve raises an eyebrow, then smiles. "You really do love this guy, huh? I... yeah, I dunno, would I have done that for Janet? I thought I would, but..." The smile fades, and he dips the mozzarella stick again, frowning.

    Then he shakes himself. "So... you got rid of some jerk that was killing people and abusing his power, huh? Well... sounds like you're doing good work. That's what the Avengers are about, after all." He lifts his beer glass, smiling again. "Cheers to that."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well... I'm kinda fond of him," Cael replies - her lips quirking for a moment. "Honestly, going to see the place sounds fun. It's an adventure. Staying there for //fuck// knows how long... A little bit less than thrilled by that idea, but- You know. That's the hand we've been dealt."
    She finally finishes off her beer, and picks up another mozzarella stick, dipping it in the sauce. "I'm trying to do right by these people. This asshole was basically enslaving them. Not letting them go home, keeping them from their families... That's bull. So... I was trying to change things around so we can help each other lead the lives we want to lead, you know? That I might have to pick up and leave in the middle of that is- I dunno. Less than convenient. We're trying to figure out a way that they can contact me if there's trouble."

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "I mean... sounds like you've got some help for this new place you're going to, if you've got a pack. Kind of like a platoon or whatever, right? You're in charge, they're soldiers, you tell them where to go...?" Steve does sound hesitant on this, like he's not sure he's reading the situation correctly.

    "I guess you wouldn't want to force them to go with you if they're already in a bad situation, though," he notes.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, I don't want to force them," Cael agrees. "Things were pretty shitty for them. And if I turn around and say 'go ahead and go back to your lives - nevermind, let's all go to //another reality// and fight in a war you know nothing about?" She shakes her head at that thought. "Am I really that much better than what they've been dealing with? I mean, I got this way against my will. I wouldn't want anyone bossing me around because of it. So... yeah. I'd want to ask for volunteers. But then I have to make sure that the folks that say behind - that they're prepared to support and look after one another. You know?"
    She frowns at her empty glass. "It's a lot. And I just- I wish I'd had a few more months to really figure things out, and get them settled back into living //real// lives - before this. But we never get to chose the timing, do we?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
    "Yeah, that's fair. I mean, if they're not really... well, they're not soldiers, yeah?" Steve sighs. "No, we never do get to choose the timing. Things just kinda... happen, and you live with the consequences."

    A pause. "Well... I'll be around, you know? I don't think I'm going anywhere--another few decades frozen in ice notwithstanding." He smirks. "I mean... I'll miss you, but it's good to know you'll be doing good work out there. And we'll hold down the fort while you're gone."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah," Cael agrees. "And - look. We can still get in a few spars before I leave, hopefully," she offers. There's a mischievous twinkle in her eyes before she adds, "Maybe we can see if, uhh, I can take you down with a little more //oomph// behind my punches." There's a brief pause before she adds, "I'm pretty sure I'm a lot stronger than when I had that amulet." And she hasn't really tried sparring yet as her other self.
    Finishing off the last of her mozzarella sticks she asks, "Think anyone would mind if I parked my cars at the mansion while I'm 'out of town'?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
    Steve smirks. "I mean... we can see, I guess? I'd suggest something like long-term parking though, if your building doesn't have an option. Just in case someone decides to cause a ruckus at the Mansion and something gets dropped on one."

    He nods. "We can spar a couple times. And, hey, if you're ever /really/ in the shit, just call, okay? Or... send a magic crystal, if that's what they do. I'll bring the whole team." It's utterly sincere, because of course it is.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael blinks in surprise at this offer - and then lets out a huff of amused air. "Steve... you can't take //all of the Avengers// out of this reality, to go jumping to other universes... to back me up in a fight. It just- it isn't practical."
    She smiles as she adds, "I appreciate it, though. And... I mean, if I need it, and you, and Sam - and hell, maybe even Barnes - wanted to come back me up... I'd be grateful.
    "Can't promise you any Nazi's - but I hear there's assholes aplenty."