13056/Hawk Surprise - Tastes Like Chicken

Hawk Surprise - Tastes Like Chicken
Date of Scene:	13 October 2022
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Cooking shows, sturdy clothes, and dating woes.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Hall, Dawn Granger, Kate Bishop, Caitlin Fairchild

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Hank Hall has posed:
It's later in the evening at the Titans Tower. Late enough that most normal people are either settling into beds, cozy or otherwise. But for those that call the night their home, things are just getting started. And at least one such person appears to be Hank Hall, who at the moment is engaged in what might be described as improbable by some - cooking!

Wearing a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt underneath a large white apron, Hank is moving back and forth triaging a series of dishes over on the stove. There is one pot which is clearly bubbling over with something boiling, a second cauldron like pot that is gurgling and from which the distinctive smell of cilantro is emanating, and then there is the pan, simmering with a set of sausages. He is moving back and forth with the sort of fluidity those who have watched him combat crime with would expect from the crime fighter, but not necessarily in this particular environs.

As he moves about, with what appears to be an overly dramatic amount of shaking of his body, for whatever reason, switching from shaking the pan the stirring the pot to peering over at the cauldron, he is nodding along to the beat of the "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen playing from the screen in the center of the room. Occasionally he glances over his shoulder to see if Dawn is still watching the "performance".

This is what happens when you challenge Hank Hall about whether he can do something. You get...this.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Settled on one of the breakfast bar stools, Dawn is, in fact, watching. She leans against the counter, comfortably dressed in pajama pants (penguins!) and an oversized t-shirt. She's not going to take back her challenge, but she /is/ skeptically watching. Yeah, she probably deserved this for challenging him.

"So when are you gonna try baking?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Who is making food..... I mean I think food.. it smells like someone is boiling soap or making soap in here..." her nose twitching a bit as she comes into the common area from the women's apartments.

    She is dressed Tower Casual, tactical yoga pants and a tank top, bare foot. She was in her room studying when smell finally alerted her to something happening out there.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
     The elevator *dings* and Caitlin emerges. She looks... dare one say, cute. A sundress with a relatively modest hem, in yellow and red, and a cardigan sweater worn loosely over it. There's a touch of makeup on, her hair's done properly and held back with a black hairband, and she's wearing a cute pair of kitten heels to go with the ensemble.

Of course her posture and bearing are a stark contrast to how she's dressed. Caitlin walks in with a glum expression, shoulders down, and heads into the common area. There are two chairs there built on the scale of herself and Victor, and she flops into hers with enough force to make the metal groan a little. Knees together, heels kicked out, she slumps into the seat with an adolescent bonelessness.
     "What's for dinner?" she calls, head only minutely turning over her shoulder.

Hank Hall has posed:
"Linguica with a chile verde, served over dirty rice," calls back Hank as he continues to manage the three ring circus on the stove top, without looking over. He continues to shimmy a bit along with the music until the song fades away. As if somehow that were indicative of the timing on the meal (could Hank have set up a play list to take the mystery out of timing?), he whirls around before the next song comes on. "And there will be _plenty_ for everyone, as long as no speed force folks are here. Then, you know, might have to go through and do this whole exercise again." He glances over at Dawn. "And no one would want that again, right?"

He turns back and dips his wooden spoon into the cauldron and withdraws a thick green substance. He tilts his head back a bit and drops a glob of it from the spoon onto his outstretched tongue, and then nods appreciatively as he samples the flavor. "Ah, just like not my mama used to make. Classic." Then, once more, his gaze turns over towards Dawn. "How about you admit first that you were wrong on this one, and _then_ we can talk about baking, huh?" He grins at her, and then turns his attention back to the nearly complete meal.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn laughs, glancing over at Kate and then Caitlin. The latter gets a smile. "That's an adorable outfit," she says, though she lets her attention linger on her for a moment. "You okay? Did someone stand you up for a date?" Her attention is pulled back to Hank for a moment before she grins. "I am not going to admit I'm wrong, but did you consider for a moment I just wanted to trick you into making food so I didn't have to?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
"Hey Cait!"

    "Ah... chile verde.. you do know you can make it without cilantro right...." she sounds sour about it as she heads over to the fridge and starts to rummage around it it for a snack.

    "or is it in the dirty rice... or both?" root root root.

    "Also.. I feel like Caitlin and I must be missing something... what are we missing... seems spicy and not just the cooking...?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Keep the heat low if you're using my cast iron!" Caitlin calls back. She's fairly territorial about her cookware, which takes up a full wall in the kitchen and is the product of many years of Christmas and birthday gifts-- largely from her fellow Titans.

"Didn't get stood up. Had a date. Number three," Caitlin tells Dawn, and holds three fingers up. "Postdoc from Columbia, literature something. Told him the deal up front, no grabby hands, no social media, no booze. He drank, he posted to Facebook, and then got fresh with me in front of my apartment until I stood on his foot."

She unlocks her phone and shows Dawn someone else's Facebook page: 'Date tonight with a SUPERHERO! Can't say but she's a HOT GINGER'. Then, below: 'Worst date ever! Capes can't take a joke!'.

Caitlin pointedly hits the 'block' and 'unfriend' buttons, and gets to her feet to walk to the girl's wing of the dorms. "I'mma be right back, I am gonna change into jammies and raid Donna's room for wine."

Hank Hall has posed:
"No worries on that, I picked up my own!" calls Hank back at Caitlin. He glances back over his shoulder towards Kate. "I mean, yes, you _can_ make it without cilantro, but _why_ is my question?" He follows Kate's movement to the fridge, grinning. "I mean I get there is some DNA thing about not liking cilantro, but trust me, it's pretty mild in what I am doing here." He looks to Dawn and shakes his head slowly, mouthing 'no it's not' before grinning and looking back at Kate. "And no, not missing anything at all."

He continues working the stove until he hears Caitalin's account of the date. "So, not that you need _anyone_ to come to your defense, but you want, uh, you know, a 'conversation' to be had with this fella, not traceable back to us at all?"

He turns back to the chili with the wooden spoon, and picks up another glob, holding it over his mouth to sample, before nodding. "Alright, we're there. Someone wanna grab some plates and I'll serve it up?" He glances back to the burners, but then Dawn gets another eye. And an upraised eyebrow.

"I had considered it, sure, but..." He narrows his eyes at Dawn, holding the spoon aloft. "If you did do that, it would be a dirty trick." He waggles the spoon slightly, but on the word 'dirty' it takes a bit of an extra waggle, and a glob of green chili launches into the air. It is a perfect arc, and unless dodged or blocked will land smack dab on the center of Dawn's t-shirt. Totally by accident, most assuredly.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn leans over to look at Caitlin's phone, scowling at it a bit. "I'm sorry to hear he was a jerk," she says, her tone sympathetic. "You dodged a metaphorical bullet though. You laid down the rules, he broke them, and then tried to put the blame on you." The mention of 'conversations' with no trace gets Dawn to give Hank a /look/. Obviously she finds that a bad idea.

"In any case, you look lovely," she says. She abruptly leans to the side as she slides off of her stool, dodging the chili almost effortlessly as she goes to go collect the plates. "I clearly would never stoop so low as to pull off some kind of dirty trick, Hank."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I can smell the soap from here Hank. Your mild is .... not mild." she finishes rooting around in the fridge and pulls out a protein health shake and starts shaking it to mix it up as she heads towards the couch and throws herself down onto it.

    She looks sidelong at Caitlin and thinks about the whole date and the dude. "This is why I am thankful for secret identities... I just have to worry about people who want to use me for money or to get close to my dad.. not cape chasers. The emails the Hawkeye account gets are bad enough. I mean at this point I just let Vic's AI Spam Killer deal with it..." she mmms "honestly if anything Vic has created might decide to exterminate the human race it is that spam filter program... you should check that Cait."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
     Caitlin returns in just a few minutes, having changed into more comfortable attire. Calf-length leggings with blue slashes, pink ankle socks, and her well-worn old Columbia hoodie. An amphora of Themysciran wine's in her hand. She smiles at Kate's story, then breaks out laughing fondly and shakes her head. "Thanks, Kate, that makes me feel better," she tells the archer, and offers her a companionable hug. The redhead obligingly walks into the kitchen and starts sorting dishware out for people to use.

"I appreciate the offers, by the way," she tells Dawn and Hank. "Really. If anything I might see about you sending Donna to the Phantom Zone or something. She's the one who bullies me into going out with people." Caitlin pulls a sour face, and examines the amphora. "Oh wow, this is an older vintage. Should save this for an occassion."
     *POP* goes the seal. "Oops," Caitlin says, and pours herself a tall glass of wine. "Well, gotta drink it before it goes bad," she concludes, and stoppers it up and props the bottle in a safe spot. Very considerately, Caitlin waits for everyone else to be dished up before taking a bowl for herself.

Hank Hall has posed:
There is something of a snicker as Dawn dodges the chili. "I know, that's the sort of dirty trick I'd be known for. It's way beneath you, Dawn." He grins at her, nonetheless, before making his way over back over towards the stovetop.

The performance is not quite over, even if the cooking of the meal may be. Pulling the pan of linguica off the stove, Hank starts flipping the sausages onto an empty plate to the side with the sort of care and accuracy that suggests the would-be glob's direct aim might not have been so accidental after all. Once they are off and away from the sizzling pot, he retrieves a ladle for the chili and a large paddle for the rice, sticking those into the cauldron and pot respectively as he moves both to different burners, set far lower to simply keep them hot. "Thanks," he says to Caitlin as she returns and starts dispensing with bowls. Then he moves over to the linguica and pours it all onto a cutting board, and sets about slicing it up into bite sized discs.

"I'm sorry, Kate, I wish I could do something about it. But I'm just a big dude who punches things, not a geneticist, so..." He shrugs. "But yeah, for the record, pretty sure any amount would taint it for you. I'll see what I can do to leave it out next time if you want, I didn't know." He glances over towards Caitlin as the wine is popped, and he nods in agreement. "Such a shame, that accident, I tell ya. You have to do the responsible thing though!" He dumps the discs of linguica into a bowl and then steps back, allowing each of them to have a turn at filling up a bowl before he does for himself.

Dawn Granger has posed:
While Dawn would wait until others are served, she has the sinking feeling no one would get any. She approaches the stove, scooping herself up some food before she glances over her shoulder. "You should make a file of bad dates and slide it across a table at her so she sees just why she shouldn't bully you. Secret identities can make it both easier and harder, I'd say. You get close to someone, do you tell them? Will it change things?" She cracks a smile, looking between Kate and Cait. "Lots of complications in this kind of thing. Don't let anyone push you about it."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "It's okay Hank, I don't make people cater to my quirks. If it is just garnish on top people can sprinkle on... sure.. but if it is really integral to the recipe don't worry about me.. I can fend and figure it out." she isn't actually salty about it as she sips her protien shake.

    "As for genetics.. no one around here seems inclined to meddle with my DNA and give me super hawk powers so.... I'll just have to cope with soapy dishes sometimes." she pauses and mutters "Cowards."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
     "I'm not stabbing science into anyone," Caitlin declares for the benefit of the whole room. "I don't care what the Metagene Awareness Council thinks, you've got a higher chance of getting Leukemia than any powers *at all*. Let alone... bird... powers," she finishes lamely.

Caitlin, perchance, *is* a geneticist.

There's a standoff with Hank over who takes the last bowl, but Caitlin relents graciously and fixes herself up a (relatively) modest amount to take with her to the big dining table along with her wine, and seats herself there with her habitual good manners. "Well, I also lost a bet with Donna a long time ago, and I have to go on at least one date every few months," Caitlin admits. "Hank was there. It was that New Year's eve where you jerks all attacked me with mistletoe," she prompts him.

"But thus far, it's been a wreck. There was a betting pool going after a while. 'Cape Chaser', 'Amazon Chaser', uh... Oh, the longshot for years was 'Religious Missionary'. I've had a lot of Mormons try to convince me to join their Church." Her nose wrinkles. "I think there were others, but I told D-- Nightwing I'd throw him in the bay if I ever found out about them."

Hank Hall has posed:
"Got it. Either which way, I'm sorry that you have to deal with it," replies Hank as he regards Kate. "I'll let you know the next time Dawn tricks me into cooking, and make sure it has no cilantro at all." He glances over at Dawn and shoots her a wink, as he starts smattering up some rice for himself. His gaze back to Kate. "I think you're a bit too neat to be a hawk. Maybe a tad too messy to be a dove." He narrows his eyes, peering at her. "You would make an _awesome_ heron, though, I think."

Chili next. As Hank ladles the chili on top of the rice, he looks to Dawn. "See, that's the thing, it's tough. Only way to avoid that is to date inside the cape community, and the problem with that is most of the guys are lunkheads like me." He shrugs. "And who'd want to waste their time trying to get me to fall in line?"

A step to the side, and it is linguica time. Hank stabs a few pieces and then drops them on top of the chili, as he looks to Caitlin. "Listen, I just sat in the back and watched it all unfold, with a few clever promptings to the rest of the team based around my years of experience." He flashes a grin to her. "But listen, you can't do things for anyone else's happiness. If you are happy just being you and single, then just be you and single." He walks over finally to take a seat at the table. "Sometimes people just have a hard time believing that some people want different things than they do, y'know?"

Dawn Granger has posed:
"It's nice to at least go /out/," Dawn says, glancing towards Caitlin. "Just hopefully you can find a better dating pool. Or have your friends make suggestions of who you should date. Usually that means they've been vetted for you so you know what you're getting into." Her gaze goes briefly to Kate. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the genetic modification thing for powers is usually a big gamble and probably only works like one percent of the time and the rest is death. Test subjects and all."

Hank's comment about lunkheads gets her to look over her shoulder at him with a tiny grin before she looks to her food. "He's right, sometimes it's hard to convince people. Dating might not be right for you. Doesn't hurt to get out with friends every once in a while. You pick what's right for you, and who, if anyone, is right for you."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Yes Kate absolutely knows Caitlin is a geneticist and was purposefully teasing her. "I mean doesn't have to be super bird powers... though I am still salty no one will make me a jet pack or teleportation gizmos..." she isn't that salty.

    Just a bit salty when she has to run across a battlefield getting cardio when everyone else is super transporting somehow.

    The shake is sipped as she shakes her head. "Oo amazon chaser.. and mormons... you should sic Vorpal on those.."

    The attention slips to Hawk "Ah didn't even think of that ... but I am Hawkeye so it is a bit of an unfortunate callsign overlap." she grins.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"You got a bow that can put an arrow through cinderblock," Caitlin remins Kate. "You've maxed out on 'cool new toys' for a while."

She looks at Hank and succinctly summarizes her response by sticking her tongue out at him rather childishly. But the point's well-taken, and she gives him a grateful smile for his reassurances.

"I'm not saying I'm out *looking* for a date, I'm saying I ... maybe Donna's right, and at least I should try," she admits, finally. "If nothing else, to keep from becoming one of those weirdos who just lives in their super-lair all the time."

She almost continues talking, glancing at Hank, then thinks better of it and digs into her dinner and wine again. "This's really good," she mumbles at Hank, and jabs her fork at the bowl a few times. "Can I get the recipe from you? I'll add it to the book," she promises.

Hank Hall has posed:
There is at least a bit of a glance towards Dawn as she agrees with him, and Hank nods in agreement with her agreement. "Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to not think about it. That's not just some sort of 'the universe is watching' kind of thing, I honestly mean that for most people, there's a reason why it comes when they are least expecting it. Just, somehow, when you are trying to force it to happen, the vibes you give off impact things." He shrugs. "Sometimes, it happens when it's literally the _last_ thing you are thinking it should be." He glances at Dawn, and then quickly to the other two.

Theorizing out of the way for the moment, Hank dives into his food, spooning it up happily. He chuckles as Caitlin points out how Kate is the gizmo-est of the current group, snagging a few pieces of linguica as he does so. Looking to Dawn, he nods his head towards Caitlin. "See? What's why I think the Hawk's nest would be a horrible idea. I'd be one of those weirdos."

He moves the spoon around to nearly clean the bowl, and smiles at Caitlin as he takes the last bite of his. "Yeah, it's not so much a recipe as I know what I am throwing in and how and proportions, more or less, but I'll give it to you." He looks to Dawn. "And _that's_ why I don't do baking, where an eight of a cup of flour off and your cake is a fake. Too much pressure." He steps up from the table. "And we all know how I handle pressure." That said, he walks the dish back over towards the sink to clean it up, before starting in on the pots and pan. Always easier to clean right after using than waiting until everything soaks in.

Dawn Granger has posed:
"It's good getting out, I think it really is about just leaving and interacting with the world," Dawn agrees. "You don't have to date to do that, but it's one way to do it. Getting out into the world isn't a bad thing." She cracks a smile. "Honestly, it's why I'm kind of glad I have activities I do outside of the Tower. You could go take a class and learn something, too." She watches Hank work on cleaning up before she looks back to Caitlin.

"Maybe we should just go make new friends and invite them to an activity?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "That was like two years ago... so many lost birthdays and christmas gift opportunities... so few Pym-Arrows... like only six of them..." yeah she is just teasing.

    Until she isn't. "Seriously though, I wasn't kidding when I dropped a note in the lab suggestion box of some better armor though, I've got this new kevlar stab resistant weave in the costume but I could absolutely use some better armorweave sometime so I don't just die thwarting a bank hiest. Nothing fancy just.. I'm squishy." thank the gods she is dodgy and fast. Until she isn't some time.

    "Also Donna is right, you should keep trying the date thing. Though it may be better to date a superhero or superheroine ... no cape chasers that way Caitlin.. or mormons I think."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Thanks, Hank," Caitlin calls after him. Dinner *and* he's doing dishes? Clearly, order has been restored in the Tower. She watches him working for a beat then gives Dawn a speculative look. A little, knowing smile curls the corner of her mouth, and she reaches over to give Dawn's forearm a brief (and grateful) little squeeze.

Caitlin leans around Dawn to look at Kate. "Kate, if you're not wearing *at least* ballistic armor, that's on you. We've got plenty of old Robin gear in storage that's bullet-rated," she tells her. "Just ask Nightwing or Damian if you can borrow it. You might need to re-dye it your colors, though," she says, and flashes a grin at the archer.

Dawn Granger has posed:
A corner forms at the corner of Dawn's mouth as she looks back over at Caitlin, then she glances in Kate's direction. "I feel like the dye is a good idea, it would be a little weird to have a color palette change all of a sudden."