16752/Blue Crush Aftermath

Blue Crush Aftermath
Date of Scene:	03 January 2024
Location:	Fred's Diner
Synopsis:	A debriefing where Cecil is wise to phone it in. Mark loses his temper, Billy Kaplan teleports everyone out of danger, and Kate Bishop finds that she's not surprised at all that someone's been watching the heroes every breath they take, every move they make, every grave mistake... Cecil's watching you
Cast of Characters:	Bunny Macleod, Mark Grayson, Kate Bishop, Sunny Harlow, Billy Kaplan

---

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Fred's Diner was a handy place to meet with the young, the restless and the old and tired. A booth towards the far end of the diner was currently occupied by an old man with long, stringy hair, his briefcase, and some various paperwork, along with a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie missing two bites out of it. His watery eyes looked tired as he reviewed the information again and again to make sure if any of the 'kids' had questions to ask about their compatriot or now shared enemy, he could answer them with what truth he was allowed, and what bullshit he could come up with that they would believe.

    If they believed him.

    He was definitely aware that Mark and Sunny didn't exactly trust him. That Bunny had almost died under his care was kept secret from even them.

    But in the end, he'd tell them what they needed to know. And only what they needed to know.

    The other Young Avengers were going to end up being wildcards in the conversation, and he was trying to prepare by reading what SHIELD had on them.

    And like everything else involving superheroes -- it's a mess. But he'll deal. So now all that's left is to wait for the group to show up at the appointed time.

    He takes a third bite of his pie, carefully balanced on a fork with a slightly bent tine.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark is dealing with his own bundle of problems. Now with his father showing his true colors and the truth of what the Viltrum Empire is, he's assuming that he's probably in a lot of trouble. Or that he's about to lose a lot of friends.

Still battered and bruised when he arrives in the diner, he's with Sunny for support, his hand in hers, their fingers laced together as he makes his way over towards the table where he noticed Cecil.

He just hopes the others will at least... understand that he's not here to hurt anyone.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate's SHIELD file is likely fairly thick, including some classified snooping about who she is. While she keeps it a secret from her dad and the public, she is pretty loose with her teammates. Also thick because she has been through some major shit since she helped drag the Titans back together with a lot of high visibility and high media invasion thwarting. The Avengers and Themescyra connections. The formation of the Young Avengers. Lots to be on people's radar for.

    She shows up looking none the worse for wear, she didn't fight Omni-man and almost die, but definitely not storming the diner in full gear. Casual leather jacket, ball cap, and purple sunglasses. Pretty low profile from either of her identities. She is pretty skilled at dodging press and attention since she was a kid and all.

    She accompanies Mark and everyone, not seeming to worried about him hurting her at least. When they get to the table, she gives Cecil a nod of hello.

Sunny Harlow has posed:
Sunny was here, dressed for the cold as much as any creature that could survive the outer atmosphere needed to be. Wrapped in jeans and a hoodie jacket, she moves in with Mark, hands held and offering 'solid ground' as it were. She hadn't quite taken the same beating he had this time around, and that made a notable difference given the lack of real bruising at this point thanks to her regenerative abilities.

Moving in, Sunny was headed to claim a seat with her fellow viltrumite.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Well. Thank you for coming. I figured this would be a semi-official debrief." Cecil states, looking at the gathering.

    "How's Bernice adjusting?" he asks pointedly to Mark.

    "To get the elephant out of the room, Omni-Man has left our solar system. We last tagged him aproximately eight astronomical units - that's eight times the distance between Earth and the Sun --" he adds "outside the orbit of Pluto and still picking up speed. Wherever he's heading, it's not a known location to us. And we lost him in an asteroid field." he states. "We'll know if he's coming back and can set up an alert. What you kids did with your Young Avengers and Titan allies was nothing short of heroic. And as a team leader, you should know--" he turns to Kate "That they operated with good cohesion. You should be proud of your team." he states, and then closes his eyes and lets out a sigh.

    "And thank you for not punching me, Mark. When I met your mother, she did. Twice."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Bunny's getting used to her new powers." Mark responds as he settles into the booth, a grateful smile that Kate was with them.

"And you don't need to tell me. You need to tell her. It was her idea. She asked for my T-Comm and she made it happen." he responds as he squeezes Sunny's hand before releasing it so he can set hands on the table as he hears that his father... is long gone.

"I'm no team leader. The Teen Team... they may never get back together again. I'm a young Avenger. A Titan." A glance towards Kate. "She's in charge. Shower her with the praise, if you're looking to give it to someone."

Finally a pause. And he looks down. "And good. You probably deserve it. How long did you know?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I'm glad. We probably need to drill more though." she muses half to herself. Maybe half in blame to herself because she is so busy splitting her time between the teams and school not to mention family engagements.

    She clicks her tongue a couple of times thoughtfully. "My main question is Mark's to be honest. How long and what do you know. We have to expect Omni-Man and the Viltrumites to make good on the threat. To be honest it has been longer than I expected since the last alien invasion." this is said with a lot of cynicism and resignation for twenty year old college student. She has seen way too much shit in the last few years. "Intel would be really good. More than just if you detect him returning."

Sunny Harlow has posed:
Lets not rule anything out, but at least for the moment Sunny isn't going to be talking over the punching duties. Her grasp might tighten, but instead she simply exhales a slow breath, glancing towards Kate to see what her response to the feedback might be before her hand was released and she placed her hands in her lap once more.

"And what if he's just out there running a message to Viltrum?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    There's a young guy sitting at the counter, nursing a milkshake. Cropped hair with too much gel in it. Hoodie. It's not Billy -- except it is. He'd communicated ahead of time that he would be at the diner incognito, and then included a few snaps of the results of the disguise spells he'd been trying out that morning.

    Stealth, though, is not Billy's specialty. So he's maybe leaning a bit too close towards the table in the corner, one hand on his chin as he somewhat obviously eavesdrops.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "We didn't know until about three hours before you did." Cecil states plainly. "We barely had time to scramble crash rooms and begin to engage other superhero teams before he decided to take you and Sunny for a trip outside the city. Good thing he did. Who knows how many people would have been killed otherwise in the crossfighting."

    Cecil reaches for his coffee. Astute observers may see that his hand is shaking.

    "We don't know where he's going. It could be back to the Empire. Some Outpost. Some other planet. We don't have that information. We don't know when -- or if -- he's going to return. Given his statements, it seems like the Viltrum empire operates on a span of human lifetimes. Some of us might not even be alive by the time he returns." he explains. "I can't give you the information I don't have. Sorry, Hawkeye, Mark, Sunny..." he pauses as if he's going to add another name, and breathes out. "We just don't have that info at this moment. And as soon as that changes, I will alert you."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"From what he said... whatever brought him here, put him far far away from Viltrum. If he's fleeing to there, then..." Mark's eyes close and he lets out a breath. "...then good riddance." His voice is tainted with hurt and anger, before he sighs.

"I don't think this is what you're here to talk about though. Not all of it." he muses quietly. He hasn't caught on that Kate might have called this meeting.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Damnit." she says with a sigh and leans back in the booth. "I had really hoped you'd have some sort of intel. Can you share everything you have from tracking his flight path out of the system. Speed. That sort of thing." she considers "I wonder if they just fly system to system or use some of the gate systems or wormhole tech." yes this twenty year old has been out of system and dimension before too.

    "I'd really hoped you would have been sitting on files about the problem and clued in somehow." first clue that Kate may have arranged this pow wow. "Seeing hopw you got on scene so fast. How did you know three hours before it went down?"

Sunny Harlow has posed:
Sunny quietly exhales another breath, Cecil's words bringing the sobering thought brings a little consideration before looking back at Mark. The idea that it could be a century before they saw the viltrumite empire....it was strange to the girl who was in her 20's after all.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "We found the remains of the lab used to construct the pills. That's one of the other reasons why we convinced Bunny not to participate in the final fight." he steeples his fingers. "If Mark and Sunny fell, or switched sides, and none of the Kryptonians showed up, we needed a Hail Mary. She survived taking /two/ of the pills before. We hoped that she'd survive a second go-around and that Mark and Sunny wouldn't try to kill their girlfriend first and buy time to get others in place. She's got martial arts training, I *presume* from the Young Avengers, and proved she can plan her way around a fight. No offense, kids," he looks to Sunny and Mark "But your pre-fight planning leaves a lot to be desired."

    He glances over to where Billy is leaning in and listening.

    "Not very subtle, is he?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    If there is one thing that Billy actually does right in this whole attempt-to-be-a-spy thing (he's definitely not cut out for SHIELD) it's that he doesn't react when Cecil brings attention to him. He actually no-sells it well.

    Though the way he sucks down the last bit of milkshake with a noisy slurp is kind of obnoxious.

Mark Grayson has posed:
"How long have you had survelliance on me and the home?" Mark asks quietly. "I figured you were keeping an eye on dad." He still calls him that. He can't yet force it out of his vocabulary. "Are you currently watching my apartment with Bunny and Sunny?" His eyes narrow at that idea. "Is one of your flunkies a neighbor?"

Then there's one more thing. He pulls out his phone. And he swipes. When he comes to it, his tone is cold. Flat. "Mom sent this to me this morning. I assume this is your plan?"

He turns the phone to show it to the others.

It's an obituary for Nolan Grayson, famed travel writer. And the set up so that Debbie, and in turn Mark, will be taken care of.

Kate Bishop has posed:
"I assume that he or the people he works with interagency have everying under monitoring guys. The inside of our base may, and I use may heavily, be free of planted survielence. Mostly because I sweep it. But beyond that and even assuming that hasn't been overcome, is a pipe dream. The spooks and suits watch the capes with intense levels of paranoia. Often for good reasons not just shady ones." she plucks a menu up.

    Turning to browse the milkshakes she sighs. "They also tend to think about contingencies like he just laid out. It's what they are paid to do. Both the Bunbun one and the one with funeral and life insurance payouts. I expect since there is a hostile empire, well you two will be under heightened watch from here on out as they scramble to figure out how to neutralize Viltramites. Hope for the best, plan for the worst."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Since before you were born." Cecil confirms to Mark. "And yes. That was the plan. People around your home town will notice your mom alone, or taking a lot of time off. There's a cenotaph for him in the cemetary nearest to your house. Don't expect either of you will want to visit it." Cecil states cooly. "That's why when you showed up with black eyes to school everyone assumed you got into a fight. Or fell down the stairs. Or your girlfriend hit you. Most people want Normal, the status quo, and not to think about how many of the superhero community are one bad day away from causing untold damage. Miss Bishop's astute observation is right."

    He takes a deep breath, and sighs.

    "Your lives are all in constant danger. Someone on the wrong side figures out who you are, they kidnap someone close to you. You have to do what they say, or neutralize them. And then someone comes after you higher on the food chain because they got a point to prove. And it's just all a mess. So, the cover story comes up. Your mom can take time off to rebuild her life. You've got your friends over here. All she's got is Olga, who--" he pauses, and checks his watch "Just got on a plane in Moscow to come console her. We see everything. We just don't *care* about most of it."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"You don't care... you don't care?" Mark is suddenly out of his seat. The table is shoved to the side as it weighs nothing. "That's my mother you're talking about. That's my family. My friends. Do you know what we could have done in three hours?"

"We could have been better prepared, I wouldn't have let Bunny go out there. She wouldn't have gotten hurt, she wouldn't have gotten nearly killed! She wouldn't have needed a Kryptonian to come save her!" he snaps, anger rising his voice. "You have a plan for everything! Were you hoping that Bunny would die so you could really push his narrative home about Sunny and I?!"

And that is when he lunges to grab Cecil by the lapels and lift him high, anger flashing in his eyes... only for his hands to pass through the figure as if he wasn't even there. A hologram.

Mark seethes for a moment. "You son of a bitch."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    It only takes a snap of his fingers to active the spell that Billy pre-cast earlier: teleporting the rest of the diner's occupants a safe distance away (really, in a neighboring parking lot down the block). And he does that as soon as things start looking like they're going to get physical.

    The illusionary disguise spell fades away too in a fizzle of blue energy. He stands up from the counter, hands glowing, only for that to dissipate as soon as he realizes Cecil isn't here.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    There is a deep sigh from Kate. "Mark. I don't think I ever heard them say they don't care, or that they had all the pieces together to know exactly what was going on to give us three hours to prepare. They said thye found the lab three hours before the confrontation."

    She honestly has to admire the planning that goes into sending a hologram just in case a cape like Mark flips out. She dosn't say that though.

    "No one was planning to sacrifice Bunny or push a narative about you or Sunny either Mark." she sets the menu down and reaches out, carefully, to put a hand on his shoulder as she slips up to her feet. "Thanks Billy. We should probably vacate ...before people come rushing back and ask a whole lot of questions." she looks to Mark "You've got this right?" the anger she is probably asking.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Cecil is steadily staring at Mark, unflinching when he lunges to grab Cecil by the lapels -- but he's learned his lesson. The pie and coffee also flicker as Mark's hands pass through them, and he looks to Kate, to Billy with his "I know for a fact that right now, Bunny is at the Kim Ben Wa grocery store getting your pet dinosaur butter lettuce and picking out an extra candy bar that she doesn't tell you she gets. *That* we don't care about. We care about superheroes who lose their cool in diners and make us scramble teams for containment. Now sit your ass down, Mark, and we'll go over it again."

    He straightens his tie.

    "We would have tipped Omni-Man off that we knew. He would have initiated combat in New York City. Thousands would have died. Avengers, Justice League, Titans could have scrambled and added to the confusion. It would make the Battle of New York look like a schoolyard fight." Cecil states.

    "If Bunny had died after taking the pills, you would have gone after him harder, made different mistakes in fighting him. You wouldn't have listened to reason, and your mother would have lost her son and her husband - piece of shit that he is. If we hadn't revived her on the operating table and kept her alive long enough for your Kryptonian friend to show up, it would be a different conversation."

    "You kids aren't playing a game. There are very real consequences to all your actions. Every choice you make in the field affects how people like me have to clean up afterwards and try to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Your old man took everyone by surprise -- but the two of you -- Mark and Sunny -- chosing humanity over the Viltrum Empire? That took us by surprise too. And we don't get *good* surprises very often. You're processing trauma. You have to choose who you wanna be, and what you wanna represent when people think about Invincible and IndestructiBelle. You got a traumatized teammate that's working through an incredibly stupid but lucky event where she's got new powers that she's learning how to deal with." he states, and looks to Kate and Billy.

    "In case Mark didn't inform you, eating those pills had side-effects. Stupid games, stupid prizes. Good luck managing that." he adds dryly.

    And then Cecil settles back on Mark.

    "So. What's it going to be, Mark? Who do YOU wanna present to the world now?" he asks, raising his coffee cup -- and then the hologram blips out.

    And the little projector just goes 'poomf!' and smells like electrical smoke and bad wiring.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark doesn't want to sit down. He wants to punch something in the face. Even if Kate is admirring and Billy has prepared, the young Viltrumite is mad as hell as he's laid bared to his teammates.

"That asshole." he growls.

His shoulders slump, his whole body seems to crumple on itself in anger. All he can do is glare at the burned out projector.

Because he's not sure if he's ready to face his teammates again yet.

"Bunny can fly now. Fly and she has super strength. We haven't tested that out. I... I figured she'd tell you when she was ready." A pause of thought.

"I brought this upon you all. Myself. Sunny. Him... Cecil." he says to Kate and Billy. "If you two wanted me out? I wouldn't blame either of you."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    There is a snort of derision at Mark's final words there. "You didn't bring any of this on any of us Mark. Your dad made his choices. We all make ours. You make yours. We each get to own our choices. Even Bunny." she considers. "Though I definitely want to see her in action and what side effects there are, because those aren't side effects."

    "That said, no one is off the team. This shit happens. We didn't kick Vorpal off the Titans because Wonderland invaded. We won't kick you off because your dad is an asshole space hitler."

    She glances around. "We should definitely vacate though before we have to answer questions."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy's arms fold in front of his chest. "What are you talking about?" he asks, brows furrowed as he stares first at the transpoder or projector or whatever it was that Cecil was using to transmit from, then he looks up at Mark. "You didn't ask for any of this. None of us ever do, you know?"

    He steps over to the booth they were all previously occupying and rests his hip against it. "We can't choose the things that happen to us. But we can choose how we respond to them."

    Then he holds out his hands, which sparkle and crackle with blue-lightning energy. "Want me to 'port us somewhere? Anywhere, just nap the spot."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Yeah. There's nothing for me here." Mark admits quietly, finally turning to face the other two heroes. "Sorry for losing my cool." he manages.

It's a rough end to the old year. Maybe the new year would be better to him.

"Back to base should be good? I could contact Bunny, so she can come show off her new things. She's still very rough around the edges though." he warns gently.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I can only imagine. Base it is." she reaches into a pocket and presses a device that will scramble all of the various CCTV devices for about a block. "Okay let her rip Billy."

    

Billy Kaplan has posed:
    Billy nods. His hands lift, palms still facing downwards, as the area directly around him suffuses with his signature cyan energy. It spreads over Mark, Kate and Sunny, like static cling from a thin layer of plastic wrap.

    Then, with the snap-crack of lightning, they're no longer in the diner but at the Young Avengers base, and Billy exhales. "The short trips aren't so bad," he says. Definitely an improvement over the 'port to Hawaii.