16005/The Wise, The Shield, the Involunerable

The Wise, The Shield, the Involunerable
Date of Scene:	03 October 2023
Location:	Lounge and Kitchen - Young Avengers HQ
Synopsis:	BM brings MG to meet BK at Superstar Publishing, the HQ of the YA. IYKYK.
Cast of Characters:	Bunny Macleod, Billy Kaplan, Mark Grayson

---

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    It started with a simple text sent to Billy's phone: Hey, I work/live with/dating THIS GUY <Image of Invincible, with his costume up, appearing to be mid-flight, possibly looking confused, there may or may not be a hot dog just out of the frame of the picture>. I'm trying to introduce him to as many of the YA's as possible, he met Red Arrow a little bit back. Wanna meet him? We have some free time AND I have a giftcard for China Wow!>

    And Bunny was currently sitting in line, gift card in hand, to order take-out from China Wow! which is a bit like if Panda Express except for Orange Chicken was not their main meal, but they had the *best* eggrolls ever.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
"Fuck," Billy mutters to himself under his breath as he turns the page of his College Physics textbook. He's sitting in his room at his parents' apartment in Manhattan studying. "Why would /anyone/ learn this? It's inhuman." Then his phone bleeps.

"Thank the gods."

The young mage slams the book shut before checking the phone. He's an optimist that way. He texts back: <<YES! YES! save me from this waking nightmare. egg fried rice and a hot and sour sup plz and thank you. meet at HQ?>>

Billy stands and yells, "Ma, I'm going out for a bit!" He doesn't even wait to see if she replies. In the space of half a heartbeat he vanishes from his room and appears in the YA Lounge.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Flashback. Location: Bunny's apartment.

Bunny: Hey Mark, wanna go out and meet Billy?
Mark: Sure, but why are you putting on your costume?
Bunny: I thought we could patrol as well.
Mark: Okay. Let me get changed!

Flying over the city, watches Bunny down below when she suddenly finds her giftcard. "Hey! Let's go eat." Cue Invincible's confusion. "We're going to a restaruant in costume? Spider-Man did that to us, didn't he?"

And that's when Bunny got the picture, sending it to Billy and leads us to the present.

Present. Now. China Wow! Standing in costume, next to Prisma, Invincible is looking over the menu. "Maybe I'll keep it simple and get the sweet and sour chicken." Since she has the card, she's paying. It's probably been her turn for a while anyway. His hand settles in Bunny's as he looks around at the crowd and he lifts his free hand to wave to the customers. "We're buying our food, not robbing the place, honest! She's Prisma with the Young Avengers! Anyone want an autograph? Selfie?"

Hyping up Bunny? Check.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    We have All been Victims of Physics.

    And it has been Bunny's turn to pay for TWO MONTHS MARK. TWO. MONTHS.

    She has to make up for someone else buying her costume. Bunny had her goggles down as she ordered, and even put it under the name Prisma. Gift cards also don't need to be signed ha ha!

    "Okay, so Wiccan wants Egg fried rice and a hot and sour soup, we're gonna get the sweet and sour chicken with two eggrolls, and I'm getting the chicken fried noodles and can I have that with extra brocoli thaaaaaaaanks!" Bunny had ordered, paid (And there were selfies. Someone tried to tip her. It was weird. She did a few skate tricks while they were waiting for their food), and that lead to, naturally, being carried through the air with a jacket wrapped around the hot plastic bag of fast food Chinese goodness towards the young Avengers HQ!

    "Okay, so no weird portals, no teleporting 'fwippiness', looks to be a nice, norm-- I'm not gonna finish that statement." Bunny states, straightening her expression. "That's asking for trouble."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
A comic book nerd through and through, Billy is. The future Demiurge, sans costume, just Billy tonight, paces around the empty lounge, hands clasped behind his back, smiling. "I actually made it," he says to himself. "A member of a real life superhero team." His eyes, normally damped beneath the crushing weight of his destiny and the burden he bears, glitter now. He's happy, even if it's just for a little while.

He sits down at one of the tables in the eating area. His stomach rumbles a little he laughs a little bit. Patting his stomach he says, "Hush you. You're getting fed."

Mark Grayson has posed:
Invincible got the sweet and sour chicken, crab ragoon and a couple of spring rolls, the last two totally sharable items with Prisma when they settle down. As Prisma gains new fans, Invincible stays out of the limelight. Always willing to put his girlfriend up on a pedestal.

"A normal date?" he asks Bunny, "I don't know if introducing me to your leader counts as a date." Invincible gives Prism a quick smile as they approach the HQ. At least it seems like most of the damage around the building from the Flaxan assault has been cleaned up, though there's some scaffolding up, and cones around a couple of large holes.

A smile to Prisma and an offer of his hand to her and Invincible tips his head. "Lead the way?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Hey I think your head made that hole." Bunny points out to one of the craters in the ground that has tape and cones around it, but she leans up to give Mark a kiss on the cheek, the jab had no teeth (or, y'know, force) behind it, and she leads the way into Starpower Publishing.

    And into the eating area, she pokes her head "Hey! Wiccaaaa-- you're not in uniform, okay, okay cool, still cool." Bunny states. She is, in fact, wearing a new costume, a combination of Roller Derby and Ninja Chic, and she holds up one of the bags. "Dinner's here? Oh! And so is Invincible!" she states, and she motions to Invincible "This is Invincible. He's my boyfriend, we've been dating for a while, and I've been slowly introducing him to everyone. Y'know. In case someone's needed for a rescue mission." she gives a bright smile, pushing up her goggles.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy pops up lithely from his seat when Bunny shows up with Invincible. As noted, he is not in uniform here. If Bunny trusts him, that's good enough for Billy. So the mage approaches with a warm smile on his face. He's not often this upbeat, but being at YA HQ tends to put Billy in a good mood.

"Hey, man," Billy says, up-nodding in Invincible's direction. "Cool t'meet you. I'm Billy Kaplan." The mage glances around the room briefly. "Around here, sometimes I'm Wiccan."

Then he turns his gaze to Bunny with wide eyes. "Please tell me that's the food I smell and that you're not just wearing soy sauce cologne or somethin'!" Billy retrieves some plates and silverware and napkins from the kitchen area and sets them on one of the tables. "You guys as hungry as I am?"

Mark Grayson has posed:
When Bunny pulls down her goggles to expose her face, Invincible looks unsure for a moment. But really, it's a matter of semantics.

Young Avengers know that Bunny = Prisma.
Now they know that Prisma(Invincible)=Couple
So... if Bunny=Prisma, and PrismaXInvincible=Couple, then when Bunny(Mark)=Prisma(Invincible)

With that in mind, he reaches up to lift up his goggles, pulling the fabric around his head with them as he pulls them back. He puts all of his trust in Bunny on this one.

But, when he offers his hand to Billy, he still introduces himself. "As Prisma said, my name is Invincible." A glance to Bunny, letting her dictate how much information is shared about him.

But then there's the mention of the food. "Yeah, I totally didn't try to eat my spring roll on the way here!" he says teasingly. "I think that's why she carried the food."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Billy knows I'm Bunny. Tommy was like, his weird magic alternate universe twin. They look kind of alike." Bunny admits with a small smile, rubbing the back of her head, and she plops down into a space, not bothering with a plate because -- hey, it's Chinese Takeout. It comes with its own containers, and she has noodles and chopsticks.

    "Look, young superheros require like, astro-omnomnom-ical caloric intake. It's *Science*. That's why everything's like tripple portions." Bunny states with a shrug, and plucks up some noodles with chopsticks.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy returns Invincible's handshake. He might find Billy's grip relatively soft and weak. He's...an indoor boy.

"Thanks so much for the food, Bunny!" Billy says, grabbing the egg fried rice and hot and sour soup. "There aren't many kosher options from a Chinese restaurant," he says with a small laugh. "I mean, not that I'm super strict with that anyway. I snuck a piece of bacon the other day here when people were making breakfast." He shrugs one shoulder. "I tripped and it fell into my mouth."

"So, Invincible, huh? That's a name that seems somewhat loaded with expectations," the magic-user teases in a friendly tone. "But you did some impressive shit the other day when those aliens attacked. Seems like you're a good friend to have around."

Mark Grayson has posed:
With Bunny sharing more information, the mention of Tommy has Invincible peering a bit closer at Billy, after all, he's only heard of her past relationship, not having ever met him.

Grabbing his few containers after releasing Billy's hand, Mark goes over to sit next to Bunny, setting the crab ragoon and spring rolls between them so that she can partake if she wants as he starts to put his sauce on the chicken.

The mention of the alien attack has him wisdom. "Sorry they came after you." he comments finally, "The Flaxans have tried a couple of times to gain a foothold on Earth, and now I think they just have something personal against me. Your group did a lot to help and I really appreciate it!" he offers with a smile, before he draws in a breath.

"Since I know you're Billy and I definetly know she's Bunny..." a smile to the girl beside him. "My name's Mark. My father was a superhero as well, went by Omni-Man." he explains. "I have a smaller load of his powers, but he says I'll grow into them someday."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Mark's trustworthy. He's had my ear for a while, we met when I saw him kinda super-speed his way over to stop someone from eating concrete on skates." she smiles, "And he's met Gabby, and Red Arrow. And also his dad kinda spnonsered me for a new outfit so I kinda hafta give props to him for that." she holds up her outfit, which is a proper superhero outfit and not 'rejects from goodwill'.

    "And Billy's kinda one of the group leader types. He's a strong manipulator of mystical energies and makes a mean cup of coffee." Bunny states around a pile of noodles in her mouth.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy's gaze ping-pongs back and forth between Bunny and Mark as they talk. He takes a big, slurping drink of the broth of his hot and sour soup. He closes his eyes for a moment, savoring it. "Oh man, good stuff."

With a broad, genuine smile, Billy says to Bunny, "Bro that is an /amazing/ suit." He has this way of being able to say stuff like that without sounding like he's mocking or teasing. "I can't wait to fight crime with you while you're wearing it."

Looking to Mark now, he up-nods in the young man's direction. "So, Mark, who d'you run with anyway? You seem like a...Justice League type." The mage grins at the invulnerable hero.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark considers that question. He sets aside his food, folding his hands over each other. "For a long while, I had run on my own." he admits. "My father thought that if I was part of a team, it would be a handicap to my developing powers so leaned heavily on me not to. For a while, the few of us that lived out west together were our own team, the Teen Team. Lame, I know, we were young." he admits.

Then his attention shifts, a small slump of his shoulders. "Helped Spider-Man enough to earn his allianceship, then decided to look into a team. Been hanging around with the Titans when I haven't been running solo, but after meeting Bunny..."

He turns to consider her. "I'm the one that suggested coming out to meet you. Like she said, we've been dating for... a few months now." he admits. "And she talked to me about the group, and I wanted to see if there was any way I could help." comes the explanation, before he opens the bag with the spring rolls, offering one to Bunny while taking the other for himself.

"To explain my powers... I'm not a Kryptonian, though I have worked with Kara Zor-El and been to New Krypton. I am about half as strong as she is. Not quite as fast, able to fly, live in space or without air for a couple of days. But, as I..." a frown. "The theory is... the harder I push myself, the more I fight, the stronger I'll get." He hasn't told Bunny that, he believes he hasn't, that is. "So someday, I could be close to my dad, who could stand toe to toe with Superman."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny's mouth is stuffed full of hot chicken and noodles, as sher darts her eyes back and forth between Mark and Billy, and she gives a bit of a nose wrinkle... and a small smile as she accepts the springroll with her chopsticks, tossing it with her noodles a moment as she considers her next thoughts.

    "So... you're kinda like one of the Dragon Ball Z fighters, the more you fight an' harder you train, the better you get at fighting harder. Better. Faster. Stronger."

    She pauses to slurp in noodles.

    "We can work it."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy sits absolutely still and silent as Mark talks about his origin and powers. As one tasked with keeping the Young Avengers safe, Billy finds this information particularly useful. But then he shovels in a few mouthfuls of egg fried rice. Dude's hungry.

"Where's your dad now?" the mage asks Mark. "Is he in your life on the regular?"

Licking his lips, the mage takes a moment to gather some thoughts on this matter. "Bunny's legit. If she trusts you, I trust you. And you already proved you can handle yourself." Billy glances at Bunny an I-don't-know-what-my-limits-are-here kind of uncertain glance. "I hope you'll hang here as much as you want. I think you'd be an real asset to have around. But before I can offer anything more than that, we gotta get you to meet Kate. She's the team leader. It's her show, not mine."

Mark Grayson has posed:
A long breath and he eats some of his chicken before setting it down, leaning back on the couch and closes his eyes in thought. "Just before I was born, Omni-Man lost his powers. He's had every conceivable test run on him, but his powers, they're just gone. He lives with my mom out on the West Coast. Bunny's met them both, even had dinner with them." he explains. "We're planning on doing Thanksgiving out there as well."

When he mentions meeting Kate, Mark nods his head. "It's no rush, Bunny knows how to get a hold of me if she needs my help." he explains. And then back to Bunny to poke her side slightly. "At least you didn't compare me to a Pokemon." he teases.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Yeah, it'll be nice to have thanksgiving with an actual family where I don't have to do all the cooking." Bunny agrees, and then she pauses a moment, turning back to Mark "I... ah... already told him we live together. In the text. Right when I took the picture of you." Bunny states with an embarrassed, buck-toothed grin.

    "And I totally could compare you to a Pokemon. Invincimark Fighting/Flying type."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy slurps down the last of his soup and wipes the back of his hand across his mouth. "Oh man, I was /craving/ this so hard. You have no idea." He shrugs a little bit. "I've tried instantiating take-out but it never tastes the same, not even close. There's something special about people putting their hands to something that is so hard to reproduce with magic. That's probably why wizards don't rule the world. I think the universe wants it that way." He shrugs another little shrug. "I do, too."

With a broadening grin, Billy looks back and forth between Bunny and Mark. "So...the two of you. This seems like it's working out. And I'm sure Bunny is more comfortable than sleeping up in the rafters." Billy gets a stone-cold expression on his face suddenly and points to Mark. "You treat her well or I /swear/ to the gods, some of whom I have met, that I will teleport you to the sun." But he can't keep up the straight face for more than a moment or two before he breaks out into some playful laughter.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Leaning over to say something quietly to Bunny, Mark sits up. "Text? Picture?" he asks, clearly oblivious to the fact that Bunny had done that! With that, he sits back up, all prim and proper as his attention returns to Billy.

And hey look, she does have an older brother type outside her older brothers! When he talks about her being in the rafters, Mark chews on the inside of his cheek, almost saying something but deciding against it. "So, I'll tell you like she told my dad, I'm going to love her endlessly." See, turnabout is fair play! Thought Billy's laughter causes Mark to chuckle a little as well. "We're supposed to look for a better apartment next month."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Yeah, i kinda skedaddled out of a shared space and slept in the rafters and in the basement here." Bunny admits as she rubs the back of her head -- and then she looks as Billy gets a cold expression!

    "Billy!" she squeaks out -- and then Mark's response earns a "/MARK!/!" and she turns bright red. And She sinks down a little bit until her eyes are just barely peering over the table.

    "Guuuuuuuuuuuys." she mutters. "No one's gonna treat me badly. I'm a strong independant woman and if he treats me badly then I leave him. And Gabby assassinates him. The end." she states.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
"All in good fun, Bunny," Billy says to his friend. Then he looks at Mark and his smile instantly drops and his eyes open wide. "Or is it???" Then he busts into a little bit of laughter again. "Nah, dawg, I'm just messing with you." Then his smile instantly drops again and his eyes widen. "Or am I???"

"Anybody wanna drink?" Billy says as he gets up and heads into the kitchen. He's done messing with Mark. Just some friendly teasing. "I /really/ want some coffee but I gotta get some sleep tonight." He opens the fridge and glances at the options before just settling on a bottle of water. The fridge is well stocked with many sodas, juices, energy drinks, waters, etc.

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Water will be fine." Mark responds as he reaches over and gives Bunny's back a little caress and pulls away to finish off his meal. "So talk to me about the group, Billy." he requests.

"Bunny mentioned that there has been a distinct lack of missions that are group centric, or a lack of communication. Not the group, but perhaps a bigger problem with a lack of guidance from the Avengers themselves."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Water's fine for me too." Bunny calls out with a wave as she sits up, and she gives a shrug. "Well, like the Avengers, pretty much everyone's reactionary. Kate's taken me on a couple of trial runs for patrols, and then the blue alien things that showed up during our meal sesh. Rude. Couldn't even finish my piece of pizza." she states with a grumpy expression.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy grabs three waters. On his way out of the kitchen he glances wistfully at the coffee machine. Our guy is a coffee addict, it seems. He sits back down, handing out the waters. He cracks his open and drinks deeply.

"Yeah things have been slow around here," the young magic-user offers. "I think we just haven't gotten any sustainable momentum. Plus school. People have lives, sometimes overseen by parents. It's hard to get deeply involved, y'know? I'm hoping to help us pick up some speed. I intentionally didn't pile too much on my course load this semester so I have time to be here. So I'll be around." He taps his water bottle against Mark's. "I hope you will be too."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"I'm a college student, and I've been encouraging Bunny to go after her GED. Have you heard her play the piano and sing? She's /amazing/." Clearly Mark is her biggest fan. Opening his own water and tapping it against Billy's, he takes a swig. "I have a dorm room at ESU, but after an incident with Juggernaut, Bunny and Gabby thought it better I lay low for a while."

Let's be honest. Mark's stubborn. He's not laying low. "But if you need help, I'll be there." he admits quietly and taps his water bottle against Bunny's. "At this rate... we're gonna need..." he thinks, considers.

"Inprismable?" No that's terrible.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Bullet-Proof Rainbows I think is our ship name." Bunny states before she sips her water, "Those girls at China Wow! coined it. We're all over Tumblr and Instagram now." she states, and she gives a small smile and a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't htink Billy's been to Rain Beau Brite's bar. But next college night, you should c'mon down. I take requests for tips, though someone keeps giving me Elton John songs, and he's gonna find I'm gonna start changin' LYRICS." Bunny threatens gently, and then looks to Billy "... I live under the bar."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Drawing in a deep breath, Billy stands and carries his water bottle over to the recycle bin. "Mark, no jokes, I'm glad to meet the person who makes Bunny happy. And I'll come listen to you perform anytime, B. But I have a pile of physics work that is not going to do itself. So I gotta bump."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"It was good meeting you too, Billy. And hopefully, she won't be living there much longer." Mark responds as he stands up and you know, fistbumps aren't just for Titans, though his attention is on Bunny. "Really?" he asks, taking out his phone. "We could shorten it to BPR?" he suggests. "Have a good night, Billy!"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Uuugh Physics. My enemy. My old enemy. If it wasn't for physics I *could* fly." Bunny grumps, but offers a fist-dap in passing. "Take care of yourself Billy, say hi to your mom for me!" she states with a smile, because it is always polite to say hi to someone's mom.

    "BPR sounds a bit like a beer variety, doesn't it? Or a bluegrass band?" she questions thoughtfully.

    "Wanna go back on patrol and scare the crap out of some purse snatchers?"

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Yeah, it does sound like a beer name. Okay, okay. Just seems long!" Mark responds, and when she asks about the patrol, he pulls back his sleeve to check his smartwatch. "We got time before we turn in."

Pulling his sleeve down and his goggles back on, he gives Bunny a side. "Let's go bust some criminal ass, Prisma."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny tugs her goggles back on and shakes out her pigtails.

    "Lead the way INVINCIBLE!" she grins, motioning to the exit. "And then, a nap with Beeper."