17088/Where in the World was Belinda Gutierrez

Where in the World was Belinda Gutierrez
Date of Scene:	03 February 2024
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	Richard Stadler is given the choice between Truth and Lies, and joins the Justice League Dark thus becoming the single most responsible human being in the Candle, Booke and Belle.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Richard Stadler

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Nettie Crowe has posed:
    A few scant days ago, Belinda Gutierrez had returned... from Antarctica... having grabbed a magical manuscript called The Frostborne Manuscript, bound with a holy nail, soaking wet and smelling like sea water after fighting icy gremlins and helping against a double-XL sperm whale made of hoarfrost.

    Nettie had sent a note to Richard Stadler, as one of Belinda's mundane teachers, that she may be a bit tired the next day on account of such.

    Right now, the old crow is working in her shop. She's got her tarot cards spread out in front of her, a tray of chocolate chip cookies, and a mug of hot cocoa. She's got a gray shawl ove her shoulders, short hair pulled back and half-moon glasses on.

    The acid-green jukebox against the wall is playing a string-rock version of a classic Falco song. https://youtu.be/4DYoXhIu6T8?si=xtRfUM4kRbDkJkkC

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Setting up for the opening of a new school was rather occupying work; despite the elementary nature of the course he was teaching, the amount of set up and preparation made for a fascinating challenge, something that streched the meager education in.... Education to it's limits. Granted, it wasn't as if he was a complete novice at academia, and had run through a few sessions as a TA, but...

Well, there was a note, swished about, the feeling of old paper felt, the cursive scrawl squinted over. All right, Belinda, in...

He paused for a moment, looking over the last word, before lifting his own glasses slightly, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and then, with /thump/ of finality, closes the text book he was looking through and gathers his coat.

Two trains later (thank God the hyperloop meant he didn't have to step foot in New Jersey), and just a bit of walking, he moved to the door of the shop. A quick peer inside, before the door opened, and Stadler moved to shrug off his overcoat and gloves. "Ms. Crowe. I'm afraid I'm going to need a moment of your time."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie looks up as the door bell chimes, and her face lights up with amusement.

    "Alright, Mr. Stadler. Come on in, have a seat. I'm glad that you've made your way out to me." Nettie states with a swish of her hand. "Can I get you something hot to drink? Cuppa tea? Coffee? I've made myself a bit of cocoa, and I'd be happy to steam up more milk for it if you'd like a mug." she greets Rick as he makes his way in.

    Above Rick, two crows alight -- the Carrion Crow, Corvax and his smaller hooded crow compatriot Torny. The two watch with interest.

    "And to what do we owe the pleasure of a visit then?" Nettie asks with amusement as she sets down another card.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     "Hardly a pleasure, I think." He said, nevertheless moving to take the invited seat that's metaphorically offered, pausing at the offer. "And in lieu of softening the hard position I was looking to demonstrate, a cup of coffee would be lovely right about now. Nothing fancy, black as midnight, if you could."

He at least has enough ettiquette to wait for the cup of coffee to arrive before interrupting, producing the note from a jacket pocket and placing it on the table in front of them, tapping it firmly with a finger. "I'm afraid I might ask for a little more information on exactly what Ms. Guiterrez has gone through here. I'm holding on to a forlorn hope that Antarctica' is a euphuism for Yonkers I haven't heard of yet."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie hops up to make the coffee. There's a nattering about the weather, kids these days, her son's gone off to acclimate to the weather in England before he starts uni over there, she already misses him but they recommend not talking in the first month to make sure the apron strings are cut.

    And she returns with a mug that states that it is property of some expensive school upstate, and she sets it in front of Stadler.

    And she looks at the note, and her eyebrows rise up.

    "Ask yourself if you would rather the truth, or a lie, Mr. Stadler." she states, and she pushes the plate of cookies over to him before she answers:

    "'Fraid not. We went to Deception Island, just south of the Southern Shetlands, off the coast of Argentina. Miss Lydia Dietrich, my cohort, Zatanna, who is one of the most powerful users of magic I know, and the mystic known as Tarot accompanied us. Belinda performed well under pressure and under water, ultimately she retrieved the document for us." Nettie replies, her eyes on Stadler.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     The standard small talk, of course. The weather hadn't been too bad; low 40s was rather tolerable with a decent coat, so long as you didn't spend a lot of time at the coast, how things were worse in Michigan. Silence on the son moving to university, of course. There was a certain amount of sympathy he was willing to extend, but he had an objective. Probably why, while he takes a swallow of the bitter life giving elixir, he leaves the late of cookies untouched.

"Lies are rather comforting, I'll admit, and if I was simple concerned about my own comfort, certainly, there's an argument. But they certainly rot away one's effectiveness. So. The truth, please."

And he certainly gets it. There's a slight frown as he visualizes the map in his head, before shaking his head. "Magic is still a blind spot of mine. Granted I'd only heard drips and drabs of it until the last year or two, but I won't pretend to know how it works. I don't think it applies here, though. I'm sure Ms. Gutierrez performed very well. We had a brief discussion of her gifts and capabilities, a while back, after all."

He drums his fingers on the table, a slight pause, before he leans forward. "What concerns me is that you took her halfway around the world and put her in danger for an objective you clearly had the personnel for. And I want to know exactly how necessary it was to deploy her like that."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I put up a message on our mission board, she desired to come. I do not deploy teenagers, but I do give them supervised experiences. If I thought it was too much for her, even a second, I would have had her stay ashore." Nettie states.

    "The Justice League Dark is not a military operation, Mr. Stadler." she states as she plucks a cookie off the plate, "and as loath as I am to have literal children among the ranks... she *is* supernaturally inclined. She's shown initiative and desire to help, and she *will* get herself into dangerous situations." Nettie states quietly.

    "Belinda has already shown that she's willing to be out on her own to satisfy her own desire to train and improve herself. I would rather her have structure with people who can safely redirect her if things get out of hand."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     "There's a very simple solution to sooth that loathing, Ms. Crowe; don't deploy children." He says, flatly. A long moment of silence before RIck is forced to sigh. "You aren't wrong in that she's going to get herself into dangerous situations. She's a teenager, and teenagers, to a person, are goddamn idiots. And I mean that emotionally. Ms. Gutierrez is a rather brilliant botanist in the making, but I've seen people just as smart as her think that the DEP is a fascinating idea because a recruiter comes to town and offers enough money to buy a car."

Another grip of the mug, and this time a larger swallow of the coffee within, speaking almost before he's swallowing. "Of course she's going to end up signing up for missions like that. There's opportunity there, but I don't think she's..." He trails, off, searching for the words. "She knows what the dangers are, certainly. She was prepared to wander into hell, alone, to pull you out. She seems to be the type that thinks some... sacrifice is worth her life, either because she undervalues herself, or as that overdeveloped sense of destiny teenagers have. Yes, she needs training, yes, she needs encouragement, but she can't just be allowed to... to throw herself out there!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "On that we disagree. I was most vexed to see that she went into Hell after me against the Demogorgoose." Nettie states, her eyebrows rising up.

    "Then what would you allow a teenager who can, at will, turn into a very large werewolf, to do? Wherever she goes there will be danger to her. In these events where there is high magic danger I would rather she be with adults who can pull her out of the situation and get her home safely. She participates in Dark and regular Justice League operations, Richard. I don't think it is an issue of 'what we allow' her to do and more 'what we prepare her for'." Nettie comments, and then she folds her hands in front of her, almost as if in prayer, and she laces her fingers together.

    "Would you like to be made an official member of our LEague Dark, so that you too can keep track of her movements here? Participate in missions and such as a supervisory function?"

Richard Stadler has posed:
     "I'm not- I'm not saying you agreed-" He says, before stopping, and taking a moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. "I suppose, indirectly, I am saying that, aren't I? My apologies. I shouldn't say you're planning on throwing her in every dangerous situation you come across, just that the ones you seemed to be willing to let her go on are of an intolerable danger level for someone her age.

"What I would have her do is to train her without deployment into difficult operations. Set up a course schedule, explain to her that the operations need to wait until she's 18. At least. Certainly, we can't expect her to run into these sorts of operations with less training than an 11B."

Of course, he can see the weakness in his argument; the barn door swinging wide, horses already strewn about the pasture. "She's got to be shown what the rest of life has to offer, instead of what might be considered adventure-"

And then he's looking at Nettie with an air of incredulity. "I did explain, Ms. Crowe, that I'm not experienced with this... hocus pocus you've got going on over here?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "One, again, I don't deploy people .And I generally go with them when they come out on these ventures. Two, Belinda is damn effective at what she does, which is be a threat, and be the muscle. When she works in the shop with me, she fixes my air conditioner and delivers tea orders and picks up my sandwich order at Katz's and, very occasionally, gets to choose where we order lunch from. I encourage her to talk about her future and what she wants from it. To have interest in cinema and books and have tried every item she has cooked and brought in, because this life is not all hocus pocus." Nettie states to Stadler, and she raises her eyebrows.

    "And you need not experience with it, I'm happy to train on-the-job. Adventuring to Antarctica is not required."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     "I should say I don't plan on being some... illusionist out there, waving a wand. I know there's people out there that do. Your organization, certainly, or... other organizations." Just because the woman in front of him probably had a clearance didn't mean practicing a little discretion wouldn't hurt. "My specialty is teaching this country's future enough about biology to know how their own systems work. ..."

He pauses again. "You know, this was supposed to be somewhat of an easier life, doing things like this? Challenging, sure, but easier. I understand she's good at what she does. I know she's conscientious, and certainly this sort of extracurriculars looks wonderful to a college admissions specialist, to say nothing of personal growth, and I've got nothing against most of that. But you know, you have to know that all it takes is meeting the right people who know how to handle threats, and catching some rounds in the wrong places."

Another bit of silence. A weary voice. "I know I'm not going to be able to convince her. I know I lack the capability to meaningfully stop her. Is there anything I can do to convince you to at least keep those missions to... easier jobs? Closer to home? Anything?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "No. All those who join the Justice League Dark, in any capacity, reserve the right to be as active or idle as they wish." Nettie states quietly, "Except its landlady, who quite frankly is getting rather tired a lot. THen again, nearing a hundred and eighty." she wrinkles her nose.

    "However this means *you* are not barred from anything either, unless I specifically request 'I need magic users only' I suppose, but that hasn't happened in years." Nettie reflects a moment.

    "Do you want to do what is right for Belinda, even if it's a little work behind the scenes? Would you do anything to try and protect those who cannot protect themselves?"

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler's quiet again, this time for perhaps a half a minute, staring at the table. His fingers drum along the front, as if he's trying to find a way to change the outcome that's in front of him. It's an awkward, drawn out, needed silence, before he speaks up again.

"I suppose I could 'go to war', so to speak. Antagonistic, but, well." He says, waving his hand dismissively. "No point to it. I can do a lot with a 4 line phone, but it isn't magical, it isn't likely to endear me Ms. Gutierrez, and I have the strongest feeling I'm already on the wrong side of history here.

"Of course, I want to make sure someone like her makes it to her twenties. I've got a lot of students I'd say that for. So it appears I only have the one option. As for protecting those who can't protect themselves, made a career out of doing that. Suppose at this point it's become more of a hobby."

A pointedly look. "Please tell me it at least pays."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "With hazard pay and differentials. Also a couple times a year I rent out a Doubletree and we eat junk food and go swimming." Nettie confirms.

    She takes the cookie. She then brings it up and ceremoniously taps it on either shoulder on Richard Stadler, and then Nettie eats the cookie.

    "Welcome to the Justice League Dark, duckie. You now have access to the training areas, the lounge and sitting room, and crash space should you find yourself in need." Nettie gives a gentle smile.

    "And if there are resources you don't have, we can try to find them for you. Plus, at your next job, technically you can say you've worked with the Justice League -- we're just not as marketable as the men and women in their underoos."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler's eyes follow the cookie as it taps his suited shoulders, and gives a good-natured grimace. "Appreicated, certainly. I'd say I didn't need the money, but I've learned that one doesn't say no to resources. Lord knows I have a few money sinks and my own resources aren't exactly the cheapest to source, so... appreciated. Just... let me know how to access whatever system you have, just so I can keep track of Ms. Gutierrez... or any other teenagers you have going to God knows where and doing God knows what." A pause. "That... was a bit more direct than I wanted it to be. I'm sure I'll be able to find that information. And I'm intrigued at what you might have for training areas."

A bit of a rueful smile. "Oh, I'm at Happy Harbor until it's time to really retire, but I suppose it'll be useful at cocktail parties. Though I do suppose it might be interesting to meet Superman."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I've not met him, but his son is charming." Nettie gives a small smile, and she gives Stadler.

    "Corvax. Do show Mr. Stadler around the premesies and make sure he has access to the monitors." Nettie states, taking up her cards again.

    Corvax, the larger crow, flits down and lands on Stadler's shoulder.

    "Hullo Dicky! We're gonna be friends, you an' I." the old pirate states, and he motions with his wing. "D'ye know how to read crystal balls? That's how she usually does it. But no worries, some blood and a spare skull we'll have you up to snuff in no time."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     "Really? I do suppose it's proper parenting. I have a friend that runs a shop just a block or two away from the Hall of Justice. I'll have to tell her if there's a chance." He notes. "Corvax? Wait, is-"

Stadler, of course, has the reflexive action to remain when wildlife decides to pay a visit and actually lands on him. Or maybe it's simply the continued strangeness of a corvid that can actually talk and not just repeat words like a parrot. "I'm... sure we will, and... no. No, I don't believe I do. It..."

He follows the wing in that direction, looking at the bird incredulously. "...Where do you get those items? It's... rather important I know where you get those items..." voice trailing off at the start of what's sure to be a new adventure.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Well Dicky -- do you want the truth, or a lie?" Corvax asks, and the bird cackles as the doors close as Richard is given a tour.