17037/Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Where Nobody Knows Your Name
Date of Scene:	29 January 2024
Location:	One of /those/ bars
Synopsis:	Summary
Cast of Characters:	Colette O'Connail, Kate Bishop

---

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Kate Bishop is 20 years old. She is too young to go drinking legally, though there are always ways around that. Of course for someone of Kate's resources a fake ID is not a terribly tricky proposition, but there are alternative solutions. In any city there are a few places, if you know them, where the discretion of the people who run the place extends to not asking too many questions about age. Some such places are distinctly disreputable dives that often don't last all that long before being shut down by the cops, but there's a whole spectrum of such places, and when Colette and Kate are meeting up, it's inevitable it's somewhere at the other end of the market.

    This is technically a members-only club, though the kind where a handful of bills is really all the membership you need. You can be sure that anybody you bump into here is going to have access to the kind of money that says 'don't ask too many questions please', though the place is arranged in a way to avoid much bumping, unless you sit at the bar itself. The rest is nicely private booths, well-spaced apart. No doubt many of the visitors who come here do so because it's a good place to avoid whatever you're discussing from being overheard.

    Colette's attitude towards Kate, since she decided she was somehow responsible for poor Kate having ended up with the Titans, has always been a little strange. A touch protective, though at the same time more than willing to encourage Kate into things that she theoretically shouldn't be doing, such as underage drinking, or treasure hunts with barely redeemed ex-villainesses. In this case the underage drinking was no doubt proposed by Colette at least in part so she could check up on the young Titan and make sure the reprobates in the Titans weren't trying to get her into anything too dangerous, whatever Colette's interpretation of too dangerous might be. Whatever the reasons, it had been a few months so there had been an arrangement to meet for drinks. And this being Colette, she's forty-five minutes early for the meeting because she's always early for everything. Perhaps so she can get some of her drinking in early -- there's already a bottle of whiskey and a pair of glasses on the table when Kate arrives, and a not insignificant part of the bottle has been drunk already.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Honestly, yes, Kate has a fake-ID. She has money, connections, and has lived most of her life in New York City and then split time in Metropolis. No self respecting teenager in her position wouldn't have a fake ID, let alone a college kid.

    This is a bit different than the last hangout with Colette, which was if she recalls way more of a dive bar where no one asks quesitons, is a bit refreshing. She smoothes her way in with the pass off of cash for tonights membershiop and slips inside. Definitely in civilian attire not Hawkeye.

    She does th eslow glance and scan of the establishment when she does get inside. The clear look of someone meeting someone else, if for no other reason than to help avoid someone coming up to offer the attractive young lady a drink. Ah there's Colette.

tShe heads over, hooks a chair with her foot, and pulls it out o settle back into it with a slouch. "That, is a stout start to the bottle Trouble." she notes amused. "This all social or is the world ending again... or did you join a team?" pure sass.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Yeah I joined the fucking Justice League Kate," Colette answers with a grin. "Apparently Superman is retiring and they said they needed someone as upright and moral as he is to take his place, how could I say no?"

    She pours out a glass of the whiskey for Kate, but apparently this is by way of an aperitif, as she also gestures to a waiter to come and take Kate's drink order. Nobody's expected to do anything as menial as going to the bar for their own drinks here. "I thought I'd ask your advice for a code name. I know you super types are into those. I'm pretty sure anything I came up with would be vetoed by Batman and all those guys."

    She knocks back her own glass and then refills it. "Just a social thing really Kate. Wanted to see how you're doing. Get the low-down on that supervillain wizard lady with the pink hair. Find out if you need help escaping from the Titans yet. That kind of thing."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    A snicker. "Hey, I mean, when I ran through a few things that could easily make you drink it was definitely on the list." she reaches out and snags the glass of whiskey and slides it back over to herself. She swirls the liquid around thne takes it like a shot.

    To the waiter. "Cherry Mule." then her attention shifts back to Colette. "I am pretty certain that they do have a book of forbidden codenames. I'd go with... Obsidian.. or if that isn't camp enough.... maybe Missappear?"

    She looks innocent as she slides the glass back towards Colette and the bottle.

    "Jinx. She is doing okay I think. I have missed most of the zany adventures she has likely been having because I've been neck deep in the Young Avengers project."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette tops up Kate's glass. Just because she's got a cocktail coming doesn't mean she should go easy on the straight spirits, or at least that's Colette's logic. Colette doesn't get hangovers though.

    "You're insane, Kate. If one superhero team wasn't bad enough, now you've got yourself involved in a second one. I'm sure it's not good for your health. Still, whatever makes you happy." Colette leans back with her glass in her hand, resting her other arm behind her head for cushioning, and grins at Kate."

    "Yeah, Jinx, that's it. I knew that. I even looked her up to check out who she is, it's just once you start calling someone Mary Poppins it's hard to get that out of your head. I like her, even if I do blame her for destroying my car. Or at least she seems fun. Kind of weird that you guys were hanging out with someone who's got quite as much of a criminal record as she has. So she's reformed, right? Because she wasn't exactly acting like she was a hundred percent reformed. I guess I'm just trying to get a bit of a handle on her. Like is she going to be a good influence on you by encouraging you to drink and swear more? Were the threats just a reflex action from someone who's spent too many years threatening people, or is there any chance she'd try to go through with those threats?" Colette lets her lips curl up into a distinctly mischievous smirk. "Or for that matter, is there any chance she's going to go through with her threat of making sure that you can't walk straight for a month if you fuck her?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate shrugs a bit. "I got suckered into it becauese a lot of the younger heroes in New York need someone who knows how to survive this and make it through it to guide em." she fishes up her topped off glass to take another sip. Slower than the first though.

    "It probably isn't good for my health though. Titans. Fam shit. Avengers. School. I vaguely remember what sleeping in or having a day off to myself was like." she muses.

    "Still. I have backed off a touch on Titan day to day while working on this so as to not be utterly checked out nuts. Not that the whole Omni-Man viltrum bit isn't a mess..."

    "I think Jinx is ... mostly reformed... like she wants to be a good person and do the right thing but there are a lot of habits to break. Seriously if people like Harley can turn it around... and some of the other ex villains I've run into... Jinx is way better off than most of them." she blinks at the last part as that sinks in and blushes. "Uh."

    Drink sip.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette's smirk grows into a full-on grin as Kate's cheeks take on that faint resemblance to Jinx's hair. The waiter appears with Kate's Mule and Colette gestures towards her empty beer bottles and asks for "Two more please." Either she's thirsty or she plans to add beer to Kate's diet of whiskey and cocktails.

    "Pretty much just repeating /your/ words," Colette tells Kate when the waiter has returned to the bar. "Okay, also /her/ words, but you're the one who put that particular spin on her words first, not me. Not that I wouldn't have done the same if you hadn't first, because I mean. Come on. Who wouldn't?" She tilts her head to the side. "Okay, who wouldn't who has an actual sense of humor. You know what I mean."

    Colette sips slowly at her whiskey, studying Kate curiously. "Soooo." She smirk resumes, though it's fainter and more playful now. "Should I assume from your reaction that you've given the idea a little thought in the intervening weeks? Does the thought of a little bit of Jinx put you off your aim? Would I be right in thinking that her threat was not a wholly unwelcome thought to you?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Better not be for Kate, she holds pretty strick to the beer and liquer don't mix well belief. Still she sips her mule thoughtfully. "Mm cherry." she says distracting herself.

    "Something about mouths writing checks you can't cash and all that." she notes getting her balance back some.

    "Also who wouldn't. Crazy can be hot." she sips her drink again. "Are you trying to match make Colette. Maybe your codename should be meddler.. I think I saw that tagged in your file for some reason..."

    Mock glare.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Oh no, just enjoying watching you squirm," Colette says with a laugh. "And don't put any fancy interpretations on that one, I have no expectation that this particular squirming will leave you unable to walk straight. "Besides I matched you up with the crazy that is the Titans, I'm not going to match you up with anyone else. Look after your own love life, Kate."

    The beer arrives and Colette grabs one immediately, using it to gesture with in the first place as she waves the beer in Kate's direction demonstratively. "Or you know, sex life rather than love life. Because finding crazy to be hot is one thing, falling in love with crazy is quite another. There's quite enough of that lovey crap going on at Titans Tower already. I mean... Terry, Gar and Kian. Bit young to be getting married if you ask me. I think it may be an Akiar thing. They have complicated social relationships. They seem to form groupings somewhere between the human concepts of family and clan, I think. So it's natural to Kian. Still, what's wrong with just fucking each other?"

    Colette puts her bottle down and raises both hands in a 'stop' gesture, laughing. "Wait, rewind. I need to be careful what I say around you after seeing you interpret Jinx's word. What's wrong with /them/ just fucking each other, I mean. 'Cos they've been doing that happily for some time now."

    She picks up the bottle again and takes a swing. "Speaking of which, it's getting very close to four years since I pulled Kian out of the ocean. I'd have to check the exact date, but mid Feb some time. Somehow the crazy bird has survived four years on this insane planet of ours."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Admittedly I am happy for the three of them, but I boggle at them making it all work." she shakes her head thoughtfully. "Maybe it is a furry thing." her drink, it is sipped once more.

    "Also nothing wrong with just fucking. Still I'd say that people in our generation are pretty in tune with polyamory. Not like it will hurt Gar's movie career at all really these days. Might even get him roles." she mmms "Though not positive he is still doing movies."

    At the wording jab she snorts. "I am not interested in any of the trio, thanks but no thanks. I am very happy fopr them all like I said. You should give Kian a earth arrival you should thank me you didn't drown present Colette."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "I gave him a present when I waded into the fucking ocean and dragged him out of it Kate," Colette says with a laugh. "Sometimes I wonder why I did that. I mean I'm not the one who goes around risking her life to save complete strangers normally, that's up to you crazy costume people. Spur of the moment shit, you know. Still it worked out. I've grown to like the crazy bird, and honestly it's been pretty good for my career. You know how many English teachers there are in the world who have got to teach English to an alien? Very damn few. I've written a couple of papers of xenolinguistic educational techniques that have been published in the International Journal of Linguistics which for someone of my experience is kinda ridiculous. It's also made a few highly respected professors of linguistics very grumpy which amuses the hell out of me."

    Colette tops up both glasses of whiskey and sinks her own in a single gulp, without even putting down her beer bottle. The woman clearly has an iron constitution. Perhaps that's one of the meta-abilities she's so secretive about. "Nothing wrong with fucking at all," Colette agrees. "Though count me out for Kian, Terry or Gar too. Not my types. Love though? Nah. What's the point of that? So much better if you feel just fine about walking out of them when someone prettier comes along, if you ask me.

    And it's back to a swig of beer, followed by a slightly sly expression. "Actually I kind of do have a present in mind for Kian. Something I've been working on for him. He's been working on it too, but he doesn't know it yet. Keeping that one a secret until the paperwork comes through."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "It was pretty much the slippery slope to your hero career Colette. It helped cement you firmly into a weird parabolic orbit around the Titans and doing the right thing." why doesn't she just reubbing it in. She will take another sip of whiskey. Alternating shots and cocktail it seems to draw the cocktail out now.

    "Also maybe you are right. You did save him, he should buy you a present."

    "Paperwork. Okay super intrigued now." she means it to. What is Colette up to.

    "Oh. Do you know anything about the Viltrumites?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "I'd tell you," Colette says. "But I'd have to swear you to secrecy. And then I'd have to threaten bloody murder if you let anything slip. Problem with that is you'd believe me when I said I'd kill you even less than you'd believe Jinx, and where's the fun in that?" She flashes Kate a broad grin and then gulps down the rest of her beer, and picks up the second bottle. If this wasn't the kind of bar where they never ask any questions, they'd probably be concerned by how much she's drinking.

    "Viltrumite. Sounds like a brand of toilet cleaner." Colette raises her bottle in a salute. "NOTHING gets your toilet cleaner than VILTRUMITE! Now with oxy-release foaming action, to clean in all those hard to reach places. Kills 99% of all known germs!"

    Helpful Colette, real helpful.

    "By the way Kate, I'm not in the Titans orbit, they're in my orbit. And I always do the right thing. It's just the rest of the world has a more primitive understanding of ethics than me and doesn't necessarily see it. I have my reasons for everything I do. Admittedly in a lot of cases that reason is basically 'why the fuck not, sounds like it'll be a laugh', but... " she pauses a few moments to consider her next words, then gives a shrug of her shoulders. "Well maybe one day if you live long enough you'll understand."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Okay there is a few eye rolls there. Her being in danger from Colette - Check. The toilet cleaner montage - check. The Titans being in Colette's orbit and people just not having her ethics - check.

    Drink sipped and she just peers over the rim of her glass before cocking an eyebrow. Sass. Check.

    "Are we talking epochs or just if I make it to thirty?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
"Well back when Gar was moping around because the Titans were no longer a thing," Colette says with a shrug, "...I figured it'd take about five hundred years, give or take a century or two, for things to really pan out. You guys were all thinking about tomorrow, /someone/ had to do a little bit of thinking about the longer term. Does that count as epochs in your view?"

    She gestures with her bottle again. "I know, that's a bit more than another decade. You probably won't make it that long. Who knows though, right? You got some immortal people on your team already. Maybe it's infectious. Stranger things have happened. Probably best if you take my word for it though, huh?"

    Colette's grin returns. "Of course I could just be saying that on the basis that there's only the slimmest chance you'll get to call me on it. 'Live to five hundred and then you'll understand' is a pretty safe call. Even if you do live that long, what's the chance of you remembering this conversation in another five hundred years?"

    She tops up Kate's glass again. "But just in case, better have some more whiskey to make sure..."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I'll admit. Drinking with you is never boring. Also if superpowers or such were infectious I'd be able to fly by now. Well unless they are STDs then I am doing it all wrong. Workaholic definitely does put a cramp in my dating life."

    "It is a safe call Colette, though damn that burns. Not having any faith I will make it to thirty. Shit. Look at old man Hawkeye. He is ancient and like forty... or something."

    Poor Barton.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Yeah ancient," Colette agrees mildly. She's only a few years older than Kate, after all. "Look, I'm holding out the possibility you'll live to five hundred. You never know. Maybe you should try catching something from Wonder Woman, she's like a thousand years old right? Even older than Hawkeye mark 1."

    " It would be funny, just to see how Terry would react. He basically worships Wonder Woman, so he might think you'd committed some kind of blasphemy. Probably the very concept would break his mind. "

    "You know Kate, you could more time off and get yourself laid. I mean I get it, the superhero thing is important to you. Every time I tell you it's okay to run away and never look back, you make it clear how important it is to you. But you gotta find that work/life balance, right? Go on one or two fewer patrols each week if that's what it takes. You work too hard you know. A bit more rest and relaxation and fucking in your life and you're more likely to make it to thirty. "

    She tops up the glasses again. The bottle of whiskey is getting empty disturbingly fast. "Honestly I'm surprised I managed to drag you away today," Colete says. "Here you are getting boozed up at a bar and having fun. Somewhere a crime is happening and all that, right? It's good for you. All work and no play makes Kate a dull archer."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "I am ... ninety eight percent certain Wonder Woman wouldn't date me." yeah what she has been drinking, she is still stuck in the gutter not on the fact that Themyscira might hold the answer to powers or living like an Amazonian longer or what not.

    "It would break Terry though absolutely. He is very breakable."

    "Ugn I know I need worklife balance. Also this is me without patrols Colette. I answer alerts these days, go to class, read reports, and train people. I don't perch like one of the bats on a rooftop listening to the police bands on a scanner. I haven't done that in forever."

    She takes abigger drink. "Anyhow.. I always show up to these things when you ask me to. You're slandering me Missappear."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Right, when you're asked. Don't rely on me to drag you away and make sure your life isn't all work and no play, because I'm horrendously unreliably, you should know that by now. "

    Colette leans back comfortably side-on to the table, lifting a foot up onto the seat beside her and using her knee as an armrest. She settles in to a more civilized sipping of her whiskey. "Answer a few less alerts then," she suggests. "There were four thousand and seventeen Titans last time I looked, you can afford to not turn up from time to time because you're too wasted, or because you're in bed with some pink haired Brit and have no desire to be anywhere else quite yet. It'll be good for you."

    "Besides, if I ever was dumb enough to become a superhero or supervillain and needed a code name, I would /not/ pick Missappear. It's a fucking awful name. Besides you're only saying that because you thought you saw me disappear once or twice. Never actually happened, you just didn't see where I went. That's totally different."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Four thousand twenty one now." she corrects matter of factly.

    "Admittedly that sounds nice." she notes after the snark.

    You are right though... it is totally different and not at all anal or sementics or splitting hairs..." she fishes the plastic toothpick with the two expensive cherries out of her empty cherry mule and eats the first one now. God those are so damn good.

    "I'll try to take more time off. Maybe take less classes next semester and not just fill it with more hero work."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "It's not though," Colette says with a wry smile. "If someone sneaks behind a wall when you're not looking, they only appear to have disappeared. They were right there all along though. Terry disappears because he's ceases being in one place an starts being in another place. That's disappearing. Robin just walks away and makes you /think/ he's disappeared. See the difference? Me, I'm just good at walking places where you can't see."

    Colette breaks into a grin. "That's what I like to hear," she says. "Look, I'm only messing around when I tell you to run away. I pointed you in the direction of Titans Tower in the first place, I'm obviously not really against you doing this stuff. Just... look after yourself as well as looking after the world, Kate. Dedicating your life to a cause doesn't have to be completely literal. It's entirely fair to keep some of that life for yourself. You've only got one, after all."

    "That's true for you whether it turns out to be thirty years or five hundred too. And Kate, just in case it does turn out to be only thirty, have some fucking /fun/ with it while you've got it."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Look. I got it mom." she says it with a bit of fondness there.

    "I'll try to find more time for fun again. Also for the record some of the most fun I've ever had is just hanging out with the Titans and the Young Avengers and just being idiots about stuff. Not crime fighting. Not risking our lives. They are friends and in some cases more family than my own actual blood family. I have enjoyed it not just worked myself to the bone Colette."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette gives a laugh at the 'mom'. "Hey you're always accusing me of caring more than I admit. Well... maybe. But only for my friends, mind you. Everyone else can go fuck themselves. Or each other, for that matter. "

    "It's still /them/ though. I'm glad your having fun with it, but you need some Kate time too. For the sake of your sanity, get away from those lunatics from time to time."

    Colette tops up the glasses, which really don't need topping up, and slides Kate's towards her. "Right toast time. We both pick some things to toast, then down it in one."

    Colette raises her glass. "To Kian, four years on Earth. To Jinx for not being too redeemed. To you agreeing to take a little bit more time off in future. Your turn, and remember 'to getting laid' because I know you're thinking it."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Oh gods." she murmurs and lifts her glass. There is another soft oh gods at the toast Colette proposes.

    "To taking more time off. To you actually being a decent person even if you deny it all the time. To Terry Gar and Kian being happy."

    She lets it hang out there a long moment. "And to getting laid."

    Then well she clinks the glass and drinks deeply. May as well.

    This will hurt tomorrow.