16527/Eat at Joe's!

Eat at Joe's!
Date of Scene:	09 December 2023
Location:	Joe's Restaurant and Cafe
Synopsis:	Phoebe and Caleb meet up at Joe's in Happy Harbor, compare notes. Phoebe finds out that Caleb remembers her from a long, long time ago -- and how she's saved his life twice!
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Caleb Dykstra

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe doesn't often stop in Happy Harbor, but it wa sa nice afternoon, and it seemed like it was a nice place to sort of hang out, and have some coffee as she contemplated her next move. A stop in at one of the Wayne buildings? Straight to patrol? Or maybe -- just maybe -- go jogging in a park with her dogs like a NORMAL nineteen-year-old.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And, on such fine an afternoon, Caleb can also be found here, leisuring a little. He's sitting at a booth, paying quite the attention to a sketch he's making. It's only by the sound of bells ringing when the door opens that Caleb looks up and notices who just arrived.

"Heya, Pheebs!", he offers waving a hand for her to join.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Caleb!" Phoebe greets with a bright smile, and she moves to take up space across from him in the booth. "Hey, fancy running into you here. How's your sister, how's your old man?" she questions with a small smile as she folds her hands on thet able.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"The old man's just fine, but he got the seasonal cold", he says. "Been at home for two days straight, had to call in sick." He sets the pen aside, and looks at the overall sketch. "Went to drop by some meds yeasterday. He sends his regards, by the way."

"Sheila's doing okay, considering the recent skirmish in Bushwick we had with a freak with spiky hair and a respirator, and mouths in his hands, who got us along with a number of mutants into what looked like his personal dimensional playground..." He shrugs, sipping his coffee, and resumes, "Going backwards from that, got another ninja clan - the Foot, this time... Their leader, some guy in metal, wanted to know how I killed a whole squad of Hand ninjas..." He thinks, "Oh, but good news! Helped the Wasp stop a bank robbery..."

He looks at the waitress, and when she looks, he raises the mug. "Can I get a refill, please?"

He looks back to Phoebe, "But, what about you? How's life going?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh no, let me know if I can send anything his way to help him feel better. That can't be easy, to be ill and away from your kids." She comments quietly, with care evident in her voice.

    At the news of Shiela's involvement in Bushwick, she gets a mildly disturbed expression. "Sheila does tend to get involved with a lot of curious happenstances, doesn't she? Poor girl seems like she's become horribly competant though." she gives a soft hum.

    "Hired a new admin assistant for my office?" she questions, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Did some work recently with the Gotham Children's Works and met a living universe. She's a very nice, if curious sort of person." she gives a bright smile.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Ah, of course! Singularity, right?", he says. "Nice kid", he says, but pauses, "...If you can actually call her that."

On the matter of Sheila, "She got involved because I went to Bushwick, and she came along with me", he sounds pissed at himself. "She didn't want to let go of me the whole trip back to Happy Harbor."

He sighs, and the waitress brings him the refill.

When she leaves, he resumes: "I believe she's got a good role model, if you pardon my lack of modesty."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "She's a very nice 'kid'." Phoebe gives a wry smile, and she orders a drink and an order of fries for herself.

    "Oh certainly, you are her biggest idol and influence." Phoebe gives a small smile. "unfortunately I dont't have much except a little business acumen and a couple years of martial arts training. I'm not much to aspire to." she sheepishly gives a small smile.

    "She's doing all right though? No nightmares or anything?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Not now, but the first days...", he says, "That thing was /feeding on people/, Phoebe!" He shakes his head, trying to disbelieve what he saw. "That thing was going to make a meal out of us!" And it becomes visible, his concern. "Shit, even I had nightmares!" And, given the stuff he's faced, it's surprising he doesn't have them more often.

He looks outside the window, "...Fuck, what's it gonna take to keep her safe in the long run, Pheebs?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "If you want my honest opinon, living in Gotham where a guy named Killer MOth has tried to kidnap me twice?" she questions, and she sets her chin in her palm.

    "Move away from the Tri-City area. Witness Protection Prgram style. Or you find her someplace safe where no one can touch her and you cut off contact. Even one of my friends has faced kidnapping because of me." she states quietly. "And yeah... sometimes you get nighmares. Because when you don't have your eye on things all the time, you can definitely... loose sight of what's going to be a danger to the people you love." she states quietly.

    "And I'm just some rich girl. I don't seem to have your weird luck."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb scoffs at the last sentence, "And here I thought being rich was all the luck... Who knew, huh?"

"But, the problem with the Witness Protection, at least the way I see it...", he considers it, "...is that you have to actually meet criteria for it. Like, you're being hunted down by the mob - and I know that the mob's got a thing for me, believe me -, but you have to give the guys from the witness protection something to work with, like the why. And then, they'll want answers to questions best left forgotten. Not to mention you can't simply make an argument of 'oh, I have the worst luck' and they come calling." He shrugs, "What're they gonna give us, a good luck charm? A visit to Madame Sees-It-All, renowned psychic to correct my destiny?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Madam Xanadu. And I don't think she's taking cases right now." Phoebe states distractedly. And she considers. Sure. She has luck. Her entire family murdered. Her second family murdered or robbed of their memories. Her third family? Fake.

    And now she's with the Bats. Which are kind of a family. They at least fill the void.

    "Maybe apply to something with the Bats? The Justice League? I dunno Caleb, I've never been in your shoes. And trust me. If I could just use all the money willy=nilly and not have to fill out an expense report and justify it I would if it meant I can stop going to the galas where everyone stares at the poor Black Girl Wayne adopted." she considers, and bites at a nail.

    "And I beleive you. Your warehouse was attached by ninjas. That you unalived pretty handily. Otherwise wouldn't have given your dad my panic-apartment."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"...That was actually rhetorical, the name. I didn't even know of a Madam Xanadu until you just said it", Caleb says.

Now, he looks confused, "Apply to something with the League, or the Bats?" He shrugs, "As in, offering them my services? Like, become a superhero?" Extreme confusion, "How would that even work?"

He sighs, "Besides... I'm a killer." The way he says it, the brightness in the room could grow dimmer. "I unalived a good number of ninjas before they got to me, and I would do the same thing all over again to keep my family safe." He nods outside, "All self-defense argument notwithstanding... Do you think this is the mentality of someone the League or the Bats would take into their fold?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I meant for /help/." Phoebe states. "But on the other hand, what do I know about that kind of life?" she ventures with a small shrug. "I met Superboy once. I've been saved by members of the Bats. And I'm pretty sure one of the Flashes waved to me that one time." she jokes, and she leans back.

    "I don't know. But it can't hurt to ask for help -- for Sheila's sake. And your dad's." she points out. "Your world's bigger than yourself, Caleb. And if they have any heart at all, some of them would understand."

    Ollie would. Diana absolutely would. And the idea of Sheila somehow ending up on the Island of the Amazons, which Phoebe considered one of the safest places in the world briefly brough a smile to her tired face.

    "I've heard of her. Supposedly she does see-all-know-all, but I can never find a number for her."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Right", he states. "My only concern with that would be them pointing me to the witness protection program, which...", he shrugs, "...brings me back to the original predicament." He takes a breath. "Wow, that's a big one."

He adds, "I mean, there's Xio, and she's very much okay. But the ninjas pointed out one thing to me: shit will hit when someone's not there to pull our asses out of the fire."

Hence his obsession with doing more.

"But I'll have to consider it", he says.

He takes a deep breath, then changes subject. "But anyways, enough about the sad. I wanted to show you an idea I got."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "All right, what's the idea?" Phoebe asks, her eyebrows drawing up as she purses her lips. She seems very happy to get off the subject of the Justice League, and Xio, because she has a distinct idea who Xio might be and that is a can of worms all in itself.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Well, as you know, I come from a distinct line of mechanics - though not so, only my father was a mechanic, my grandad was like, an accountant or so my dad told me -, and I like all shit engineering, and tinkering and restoring...", he goes for presentation, "And I never leave a finished project without thinking 'what's the next step for this?'." He takes a large gulp of the coffee. "Remember that cloak I made, that seemed like a patch of night? Well, one of the things I noticed was that it tended to get hot fast. And it got hot because it absorbed all the ambient light, including those pesky wavelenghts for heat. That's physics for you. So I thought..."

He pulls out one of his designs, and shows it, "What if there was a way to make a solar pannel that obeyed the same principle, absorbing every photon of light in the same wavelengths as the cloth?" The designs show a schematic, and rough estimates for light absorption, ranging well into the nineties per cent. "And more..." He pulls another drawing, this time of a car with a futuristic concept, in the way that it is as if sculpted in angles - but each angle is a solar pannel in itself, "What if there were cars whose very chassis were solar pannels, providing a near-infinite amount of electrical power for motion and all the conventional needs?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe accepts the schematics, and she purses her lips as she looks them over. Some of the engineering is beyond her -- she's given up trying to figure out mechanics and kept to her own scribing abilities for magic and relies on others for the mechanical knowledge. Tim or Jason would be able to get that, she's pretty sure. Babs definitely.

    "That's pretty amazing, Caleb -- did you work this out all on your own?" she questions thoughtfully, and she looks into the car schematic for a couple of moments, and gives a small smile.

    "It's very angled -- would that have a stronger affect on the wind... tunnel... thingie? Like, more blocky is equal to more wind resistence?" she questions, her eyebrows rising up.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Everything is angled until you see it up close", Caleb says, "But there's a reason for these angles, to maximize the absorption of incoming sunlight. But, as the french would put it, 'la piece de resistance'..." He shows another schematic, "the edges between the plates are led lighting, a break from all the blackness of the chassi." He shrugs idly, "Lights can be dimmed, customized... One could customize their own car in that way, and, I think, maybe even shut a lot of folks up about vehicle safety regulations. Because the whole edges of the pannels could be one huge headlight on the street at night."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I see." Phoebe purses her lips.

    "It looks really very clever, Caleb, but admittedly? My knowledge base is all medical, not mechanical." she offers as an embarrassed smile. "Just showing these off, or are you looking for an investor? Because I could forward the request to Wayne Tech -- my brother Tim's kinda-sorta involved in that part."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"These are pet projects of mine, really. Just concepts, could be years ahead of their time, if ever", he says as he takes them back. "I've only been able to do these because I broke out of...", he makes a circular motion with his finger, inviting to associate the pieces. "But you had an influence in me getting out, same for Mike, and Xio as well. And honestly, the break from all the constant everyday struggle brought out the nerd in me."

He chuckles, "Pheebs... we're friends, okay? This is showing an idea I got. I wouldn't feel comfortable about exploring this without scheduling an appointment if I had anything to show for it." He nods, embarassed, "That's how shy I am at heart. Now you know."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "We are friends, however I am totally not above twisting my brother's arm when it comes to a good idea. Tim loves a good idea. And a friend of ours also dabbles in environmentally friendly powercells and structures without resorting to lithium. What's the battery built on?" she questions regarding the schematics, "just in case I bring it up during dinner and someone asks." she gives a small smile, and she shakes her head.

    "I did what anyone with the means would do." she explains with a small smile.

    "I wish I could do more."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"The batteries would have to be specialized, giving away energy in a continuous fashion since they would be taking in all that current coming from the pannel circuitry, a small part of it going for heating and the very LED lighting, which needs to be on in a continuous fashion, otherwise how're you going to identify your car?", He continues, "They would have an insulating substance preventing them from leaking heat as a failsafe. Because batteries...? My god, they like to heat up, I shit you not", he explains. "The problem is the very materials for the pannels and the batteries, which let's be honest, I had only the concept for. This means going into material R&D, and damn is that a subject for the ages."

He chuckles, "But you wanna know the best one, regarding this concept car? Unless you have your phone or, say, a tablet that you use as a docking station... The car would be basically just a nice chassi, impossible to take anywhere." He wiggles his eyebrows, "Digital key. No easy stealing."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I have no idea what most of that means at all." Yes she does. She's spoken to Tim enough to get the gist. Her boyfriend's a mechanic. She works with Batteries.... Bat-terries. IT's a funny thought.

    The pink-haired young woman gives a slight grin.

    "That's not a bad idea. I know Tim would really like to take a look at these concepts. He's way more into cars and the tech behind it than I am, Caleb, and who knows? Maybe Wayne-Tech will buy the concept and start manufacturing the prototype." she gives a small shrug with a smile.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Maybe...", he chuckles. "But something like this would be a true game-changer. The batteries alone could satisfy the needs for energy for the whole year. Imagine that in the poorer areas of Gotham. Less bills to pay, and giving the people a better chance at living."

He sighs, remembering, "Unless you count greedy landlords, using every excuse to leech money away from people and have a premium quality Christmas turkey." He smirks, "Those, you should just throw into the river", raising a hand, "Down with the establishment. Rebel."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That is pretty remarkable, yeah." Phoebe quietly replies to Caleb as she looks over a few more pieces of information, her lips pursing. Depending on the make of the batteries, the Bats could put it into small circulation among themsevles. This would give Lucius and Barbara a run for their money, she considers, and she draws her eyes up to Caleb.

    "Hard for me to cheer down with the establishment when I very clearly work for the largest company in Gotham City. But I do have a video coming out soon about dismantling incidental anti-homeless archetecture." she gives a grin to Caleb.

    "But I agree, swim in the river would probably do a lot of slum lords good."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Well, given how Bruce Wayne does charity work and implements projects all over Gotham", Caleb says, "some of which likely not sitting well with a number of people who'd prefer to keep things as they are, I'd say he does a fair share of anti-establishment maneuvers, with the plus that he has the financial, entreprenourial, even political know-how to make it happen within the system." He smiles broadly, "Because if that weren't the case, I doubt you wouldn't be finding this idea a good one."

"But, reality check time", he says, "this is dangerous. Anyone who has a stake in oil and nuclear power would want this gone and swept under the rug." Ahhh, Caleb... Ever the cautious one!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe just gives a small, low grin.

    "That is the best part about being a Wayne. Sometimes we get to subvert the system in weird and wonderful ways. SPEAKING OF - I paid the bill ahead of time. And left the rent as a tip." she gives a bright smile.

    "Caleb, how is it that you keep on working yourself into dangerous corners? Should I start trying to convince a bodyguard to hang out with you?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Yeah, well...", he scoffs, "I have a knack. Either I find trouble, or trouble finds me." He adds, "Yeah, sure... Hire a bodyguard, yeah. I betcha a bil the first corner he'd turns, he'd either bite it or quit. Double the coverage if he'd sell me out to spare his life."

"And that's why I had myself and Sheila enrolled at the Themysciran Arts Center. I can't afford to wait, in a world of super-heroes, that one actually drops by to save me; that'd be like getting in line to be saved. The ninja stuff that happened, I was caught alone. The Crowd stuff that happened, I think I told you about, I had to man up and fight."

"And I almost died - twice now." He nods. "One was very recent, big robot, had to drop the cargo truck to have it blow up. Reopened the old wound, thought I was a goner. But there was a superhero, Balm, who pulled me back." He starts to go down memory lane. "It's funny though... There was this one time, when me and Sheila were at a grocery store after school, it got robbed, and... That's how I got the 'old wound', protecting her from gunshot." He narrows his eyes, "What kind of sick fuck aims a gun at a four year old, y'know?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Not the ones I hire." Phoebe replies.

    THen again, the ones she hires are generally also Bats, or are world-class martial artists with healing factors.

    She opens her mouth, and then closes it a moment. She blinks a moment.

    "I remember ---" she trails off, and she frowns "...reading about that. What kind of sick fuck aims a gun at a four year old is right."

    She knows one or two who would.

    "So you're getting martial weapons from the Amazons?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Yeah, well... I'd love to see their resumes", he says. "I think even God doesn't do a better job than me, when it comes to my family in the heat of the action."

He nods about the Amazons, "Whatever they got, the Dykstra sibs will take it. Sheila especially. Because I got the bodyguard dilemma, too - I can't be around to protect her all the time." He shrugs, "I know one of these days I won't be. Shit keeps happening and I'm smack-dabbed in the center; two near-dead experiments already, and they say the third time's the charm."

"And then... Weapons! Oh, yeah...", he nods repeatedly. "That's a thing, for me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "God's a bit of a prick. I wouldn't count on Them for anything." Phoebe states dryly.

    It's said in a very offhand fashion, but she seems also slightly amused at the notion.

T"I've taken a few fighting lessons from the Themysciran center. Maybe we could spar sometime." she states, segue into a new subject as she gives a small considering sound.

    "Pretty sure the nearest to death I was..." Dying in Egypt. Brained in a back alley. Shot eight times and left for dead. Crushed spine, peirced organs, bleeding out internally, clamped veins and trauma-triggered cardiac arrest...

    "Probably this vegan taco stand I tried. Really awful food poisoning from expired onions."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Yeah, don't", Caleb reaffirms. "It's a really long request list, and I'd hate to see the ticket number. You'd be dead and still waiting."

"Oh, you did?" He adds, "First lessons are always the hardest." He chuckles at the memory, "Sheila went out five seconds after she got home. No food, no brushing teeth - just out. I'm glad it was the weekend, 'cause I doubt she would've made it to school the following day."

He studies the girl before him, "A test of the skills, eh?" He grins, "Color me intrigued."

He grimaces when she mentions the expired onions, "Yeah, that seems like... A way to go!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh yeah. Their training regimins are *intense*." Phoebe agrees, "First training bout I had with them, I ended up passed out in the lobby."

    After being slung to the second floor balcony.

    "I men, it's common knowledge that I also study Aikido, in case that makes you shake in your boots a bit." she gives a grin. "Some friends of mine from class will be around over the holiday break. Maybe we could get some dojo room and see what you're made of." she jokes.
R    And she gives a nod. "Onions. The cause of so many digetive issues." she sighs. "That was a hard weekend."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"I know, right??" Caleb replies, "There I am, trying to keep my footing, and I'm told 'strike forward'. I do, and when my whole arm is extended, I see a hand going for my wrist, grip like a vice, and feel just a soft yank. I swear I flew ten yards."

He considers, "But you know, I actually wouldn't mind a few lessons in different art styles", Caleb replies, "so I'm holding you to that. I mean it."

He laughs about the onions, "And just when you think onions couldn't get any deadlier, huh?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No legit, more than like eighty percent of simple food poisoning comes from the onions going mildly toxic. Bad mayo gets blamed a lot." she points out, "but it's really the onions." she adds, conspiritally to Caleb "I'm oretty sure we're overdue for a Condiment King attack in Gotham City. Diced onions can be murder." she states with typical Gotham Humor.

    And she gives a small smile and a nod. "I'll do some reaching out. I know you don't like Gotham, and that's where my sensei's school is, so maybe some place in New York?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"The Condiment King?", Caleb looks deadpan-y, "...Seriously, where do they get these guys? Kite Man... Condiment King..." He facepalms for a moment, "Unless he plans to kill us with some egg-nog bombs, my money's on Freeze." He remembers the last attack about this time last year.

He then asks, "You think the prison guards let these people out on a seasonal schedule?" He adds. "I mean, we got Freeze for Christmas... Scarecrow for Halloween... The Joker? Pretty much when he wants to..."

He corrects, "It's not that I don't like Gotham, it's the fact the criminal underworld there would like me very dead. There's a difference." Shifting subject, "Well, there's the Chikara dojo, but Ms. Wing has her own thing there..."

Oh, wait... So he knows about the Chikara dojo?

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I'd really rather not joke about Gotham's... more problematic citizens."

    Phoebe goes very quiet then. She wraps one arm around herself. "Condiment King and Kite Man aren't on the same level as Scarecrow, Freeze -- and no one's on the same level as The Joker." she states quietly. And she rubs the back of her head. She's not allowed to go to Joker incidents.

    "Speaking of Gotham -- I should get going."