2013/The Ocean Meets SHIELD

The Ocean Meets SHIELD
Date of Scene:	08 June 2020
Location:	Downtown - New Troy
Synopsis:	Arthur Curry is spotted in New Troy. SHIELD alerted to his presence sends Agent Drew out to have a chat with him. Curry grumps his way through the 'interview.'
Cast of Characters:	Arthur Curry, Jessica Drew

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Arthur Curry has posed:
    New Troy is in the center of metropolis, the twin rivers running both north and south of the island city. Close enough that in most parts there one can smell the salt water and the sea even when the docks are far off to the East, yet it is an ubiquitous aspect of life in the great city, and makes much of it accessible by watercraft.
    Which is likely how the man known as Arthur Curry was able to get on the island and find himself in the Downtown without setting off any alarms of alerts to the various intelligence agencies that are tasked with keeping tabs on the Titans that Walk Amongst Man. For he is one.
    The sensors in the river didn't pick him up. Yet once he was above ground, however, the many cameras in the area of the Hall of Justice, the facial recognition algorithms, all of them would have fired off an instant alert to various government agencies. SHIELD being among them.

    << ALERT: Arthur Curry spotted Metropolis 2301.348 / 1835.202 Multiple points of confirmation. >>

    And from there the wheels were put into motion.
    As for Arthur, apparently he decided to remain there in that area. He even ducked into the Ace of Clubs Pub briefly for a time then back out before a response could be organized.

Jessica Drew has posed:
This type of response requires speed. Even quinjets take time to dispatch, lucky Agent Drew is the closest to the area having been sent to do a routine follow up on a previous mission.

<<Copy that, Agent Drew at 2301.350. I am closest to the target. On my way. Waiting on a picture of the subject.>>

The image follows immediately. Jessica purses her lips at the self-satisfied look on the subject's face, murmuring to herself. "My, my. Someone thinks they are the gods' gift to the world." Stowing her datapad away in her backpack, she climbs on her motorcycle to make her way to the last location he was seen in.

A few moments later: Shaking her hair long brown hair out, Jessica stows the helmet into the carrier and locks it. After double-checking the coordinates, she strides with purpose towards the location.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    It might take her a moment to spot him. Not there where the first satellite photo picked him up, nor where the security cam snapped that shot of his profile in front of the pub. It's further along in the open area near the Hall of Justice, near the bordered off area where the tourists come by, pay their respects, snap their shots. Near the line where the street vendors have set up shop, selling memorabilia, hot dogs, snow cones, falafel.
    She'll catch him on the side of the street, just out of the Justice League Hall of Justice venue, standing head and shoulders over most of the people in the crowd bobbing their heads as they listen to a teenager who's sat down on a strip of cardboard and is thumping on the head of a plastic bucket with two wooden drum sticks. And it's a good rhythm, thumping steadily and lending some flourishes to it.
    But the man known as Arthur Curry, he seems to just blend in with the crowd. Tall, dark grey t-shirt, heavy black leather boots, black jeans. That huge mane of hair pulled back into a pony tail and his beard braided. He looks like an out-of-towner, which he technically is, though rough around the edges with those tattoos, that chain attached to his wallet, and a knife tucked casually into his belt.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica moves through the crowds, the black leather jacket is a perfect foil for covering the two guns she carries, one at the back of her jeans, the other in a shoulder holster. Nothing about her screams police or SHIELD, a slender, well built woman who likes black and lace up boots, just a little retro Goth chic. There he is.

<<I have the subject in view. I'll report later, Drew out.>>

They could be a pair from the way they are dressed, though he gives slovenly a certain panache. Parting the crowd watching the performer gently, she makes her way to his side. Looking up, she asks, politely, "Mr. Curry? Hi, I'm agent Jessica Drew from SHIELD. Would you have a few minutes to talk to me?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    At first he glances over and she'll see him give her a once over, down then back up to meet her eyes with one strong eyebrow quirked. The thumping of the drummer continues in the background while the crowd around them continue to enjoy it, though other people are lining up near the food carts and some others are snapping pictures of the Hall of Justice. Though, curiously enough, nobody recognizes the tall Mr. Curry.
    She introduces herself and his expression sours almost instantly as he says, "Ah fuck." Enough to get a glance or two from the other people near but he's already starting to walk away, leaving her behind him though not exactly rushing. Not too fast to outdistance her... but not exactly inviting for her to follow along.
    "What do you want?" He says over his shoulder, tone stern and severe. Of the superheroes in his group he's known as the grumpy one, the growly one, though The Bat might be considered moreso... if he spoke more often. But Arthur's never been shy.
    "Did I break some sort of bullshit rule or just here to check up on me?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Straight faced she waits out his inspection. Fair is fair, she had looked him over well herself. The first response that surfaces to her lips makes them twist. She buttons it down. "Well, indeed," she says, British primness at its best, Jemma and the Queen would be proud.

If it weren't her job, she would tell him to go fuck himself but professionalism wins out and she follows grudgingly, eyes narrowed. Catching up to him with a little skip and a hop, she straightens her face out to neutral. "Let's try friendship, Mr. Curry. Saying hello and what's up?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    That gets his departure to falter as he stops striding along that sidewalk and instead turns to look at her. Large broad shoulders give plenty of room for the slow glowering gesture of him folding his thick arms over his chest as he positivey /glares/ at her with such a firm disregard for her station and her wishes, that she might get the impression that grim disapproval might well be one of his powers.
    It is not.
    Nothing is said back to her, not a word, not a comment. He just stands there staring at her like she were the last shrimp at the bottom of a barrel that is clearly not the one you want to include in the gumbo because it might ruin the taste of the whole damn thing.
    Instead he just inclines his eyebrows as if expecting her to go on until finally he says. "And?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
He might see a tooth sneak out meant to keep her bottom lip from quirking into a smile. 'Face control. Face control,' she tells herself and waits him out. He easily could make two of her, Jessica's slender hips and long legs tend more towards the waif-like despite her height. She surprises assailants when she hauls back for a punch and likes to keep it that way. Surprise.

"And." She leans on the word. "Would you like to get something to eat or a coffee, Mr. Curry?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "I already ate." Abrupt, short, stern. Boom, all interaction closed off. She might even see him gauging this, leaving it that way, making her twist a little more just for the pure spite aspect of it. But then his jaw extends slightly and he says, "We'll grab a beer. You get fifteen minutes."
    There. That's fair. But she can see him already looking off into the distance before looking back to her and giving a nod. "C'mon, you're paying."
    And with that he starts to walk again in that crowd, not really needing to cut through it as a good amount of people seem to get out of his way. But with how they're both dressed, they seem like a couple. Though with their mien and manner it might seem like a couple having an argument.
    Over toward the small fence that wraps around an indoor/outdoor restaurant cafe he'll step inside the metal barrier fence and over towards an empty table. The waitress there waves to give acknowledgement even as he pulls a chair out and drops into it with the crape of metal on cement coming from those chair legs.

Jessica Drew has posed:
There is nothing unexpected in him maintaining the grump. Oddly, she doesn't take it personally, there is something so endemic about it that she wonders idly, glancing at him as they chug along clearing the sidewalk with their boots and demeanor, whether he knows how to ungrump.

At the cafe, she shakes her head with a little indrawn breath, chewing the inside of her cheek and takes her time to enter the cafe like a normal person. She is beginning to think that someone at HQ has a grudge. Seating herself across from him, "Yeah, on me. Us. Whatever. Order what you like. If they have half-pints in a place like this, I wouldn't mind one myself." Drinking is not her only secret power.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    As the waitress wanders near Arthur leans over and holds up two fingers, "Two beers, please." And weirdly enough the smile he gives to her... is actually /nice/. So it must be her. Or perhaps the people she represents. But then he rounds back to her and affixes her with his amber-eyed gaze, giving her a second look over before he murmurs. "So let me take a guess..."
    The way he sprawls on that chair, which to be fair is too small for him, it's a lazy manner, at ease as he rests one arm on the table now and the other on the back of his seat so he can look at her and slouch a little.
    "Somebody got an eyeful, and sent you out here to find out why I'm here and what I'm doing and any other crazy things that might be going on. Right?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica adds a smile of her own that fades as she out waits Arthur's second inspection of her. She refuses to do the perky, chirpy agent in the face of his grumpy attempt at trying to overawe her. Too much has passed in front of her eyes in her short life to let a mere sea god put her in her place. Fixing him with a polite expression, hands folded together on the table, she nods

"Very well done, Mr. Curry. That is exactly what I should like to know, all in the name of, if you'll forgive me, hands across the sea, and all that."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Alright." Arthur says as if accepting those words and then he murmurs to her levelly. "You came a long way for nothing. Nothing is going on Agent Drew. You wasted your time." That said he gives a nod to a bus boy who comes over with their waters and murmurs, "Thanks, man."
    But then he's looking back at the spider-person and cocks an eyebrow. "So that this isn't an entire waste we can have our beer and you can tell me how things are with your life. Alright?"
    He nods and then lifts the water to his lips, taking a few swallows before setting it down with a slight, 'ahh' from him of refreshment. "I didn't know SHIELD was hiring their personnel from Hot Topic." He says, looking at her ensemble, then back at her again. Pointedly.

Jessica Drew has posed:
There is a moment when Jessica considers a 'venom blast', he might see her lips purse and her eyes narrow slightly before she says with even sweetness, "I say, they thought that since we shop at the same store we would get along, Mr. Curry. You know, make the objective comfortable and all that."

She lifts her water in a salute and takes a long swallow, putting it down with an 'ah' of gusto. "Thirsty work talking to a grump, sir. My life is fiiiine. But what brings you to New Troy?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    Another snort comes from him as he looks away, one hand still around the base of his water and his yellow eyes distanced in thought or reflection. He glances sidelong toward her then, one eyebrow quirking as if to assess exactly what role she could play here and elsewhere. Then he seems to come to some sort of internal decision that might not entirely please him as he rolls his eyes away then back.
    "Figure I'll be around more often. Got some things handled. Going to meet up with some old friends." He gestures with one hand, "Figure you and yours will find out eventually. But we don't have any big plans. Just meeting and greeting."
    A glance away then a smirk, "Drinking too, for some of us."

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Yes, well, we are interested when someone of your importance takes the time to be around more often. I imagine you are anticipating some big plans without having any at the moment. Sir. It's not that we like trolling in the waters of your life." She lays a finger at the side of her mouth at that one but soldiers on after another sip of water. Clearing her throat, "But what matters did you get handled?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    It's at that point that the waitress returns and Arthur gives her a nod of thanks as he accepts his beer in its mug, pulling it towards himself and tilting it back to take a long drink of it and then setting it back down upon the tabletop with a thick glassy clunk. He brushes a forearm over his lips, though some does manage to get a little in his beard as he looks across the distance at her.
    "Had a bad rash. Went to the sea doctor, got some sea ointment. It's all better now." But then he pushes his drink aside and leans forward on the table, his large frame seeming almost comical as he rests his weight on the tiny table meant for the outdoors cafe. His eyebrows climb as he tells her simply, "Look."
    A moment passes as he flits his gaze between her irises then tells her, "If something big was up, I'd let you know. I grew up on land, in Maine. I love my home. So if something crazy was going down I'd let people know."
    Then he uncurls a hand toward her as if asking for her to believe him, "Alright?"

Jessica Drew has posed:
Sitting back to let the waitress put the beer in front of her, Jessica watches Arthur, her expression managing to be both pleasant and wry, patiently waiting to see how he will try to slip past her questions.

She salutes him again and takes a pull off her beer that lowers it by a quarter. "Ah," she smiles at the beer. The smile fades as she looks at the big man across from her, cooly expectant, eyebrows slightly raised, "Well, that is good to know. It's just you being here that makes one wonder. How /is/ the League? I hope they were happy to greet you."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "We're fine."
    Is the answer she's given, and little further insight beyond that, save for the way it's delivered. As if he wasn't aware that they'd been disbanded for the last few years and as if she'll accept that reply. But that doesn't stop him from giving it, even as he takes another swig of beer and taking a deep breath.
    "And how is SHIELD doing? Still spying on everyone in a completely unconstitutional manner?" He offers in casual rejoinder, though he then cuts himself off by snapping his fingers and thumping a hand down upon the table. "Oh wait, your very presence here means you are. Great. Looks like we're all caught up."
    That having been said he takes another loooong drink from his beer and it's almost empty. So if she has more questions... she better ask them.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Well," she says brightly with an edge to her voice that says the opposite, "how lovely! Succinct of you, too. So, they are getting back together and you will be lending your voice to the proceedings."

Following suit, she takes her glass down to a swallow or two left. She is English after all, drinking is part of her heritage. She puts the glass down gently, and licks the foam off her lips, holding his strange amber eyes. "You are important, as I said, when important things are afoot, we pay attention. Lucky you. I just happened to be in the area. I don't see how having a conversation with you infringes on you unconstitutionally, sir."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Yeah?" Arthur gets a slight smirk as he straightens up a little, leaning more of his weight on the arm that he has slung across the back of the chair. "You don't see how this monstrosity of a police state you're part of might infringe on everyone's right to privacy?" But as he says that his lip curves up, amused perhaps at the brief sojourn into an argument.
    But then he holds a hand up as if to stay her, fingers spread as he murmurs, "Look, I know you're just doing your job. You have that to do. And I know I'm painting you with the same brush, and it sucks. I know how that can be. But my dad had this old saying,"
    He leans forwards again and tells her, oh so succinctly as well, "If you don't wanna be called a dog humper, don't lay down with dogs." Straightening up he gives her a nod then adds, "Though he didn't use the word humper." Small favors.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"How lovely and thank you for protecting my virginal ears, Mr. Curry, all the while calling me a dog. Bitch, might be more accurate. But, that remains to be seen. I only bite when necessary." Jessica can do prim and English with the best of them. She finishes her beer and signals to the waitress. Only once does imitating Jane Austin's Emma, with a few amendments to language choice, appear to wear on her: her shoulders lift in a suppressed sigh.

"I rather like my job. One meets all sorts of people. Like yourself. Not everyone qualifies to be a member of the Justice League, vigilantes, taking the law into their own hands. But, I digress. Would you like another beer?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Certainly," Arthur agrees easy as that, "I'm not exactly one to turn away free booze." Which assuredly already endears him even more in her high regard. But that said he rests his hand on the table around his empty until the bus boy wanders by then he'll slide it out to the edge of the table, not taken yet but just out there in case.
    "But yes, vigilantes. Usually culturally you see that when a system fails." That small barb is tossed her way since it's rather clear that to him she represents 'the system' such as it is. "Though I understand that our current situation is a rarity in our history so far. Not that I've studied the history in depth, to be fair."
    "And you, Agent Drew? Don't you ever feel a little unjustly inhibited when you're pounding the heads of dissidents with your baton each night? Wouldn't it be easier to just ignore the whole system anyways?" Alright, now he might just be having her on.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Jessica counts it as a victory, he has gone from one word rejoinders to loquacious insults. Bring on the beer, because it certainly can't be her inimitable charm. She edges her glass out to the edge of the table to make way for the next round which is delivered with two hash marks added to the check. She smiles at the waitress then turns a serious face on Arthur.

"The system has failed and you are here to save us from? Ourselves? From some external threat? Another invasion?"

She takes a deep breath through her nose which pinches it unattractively, "I am not in the police. My inhibitions wouldn't interest you, I'm sure. But if you were to ignore the system, what need for vigilantes?"

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "You want answers to that question you need to ask the bigger brains," Arthur replies to her as he pulls his beer over closer to himself but doesn't indulge quite yet. Instead he points at her as he talks and tells her simply, "Only that yes we had to save you from yourselves." Since really, what was Doomsday?
    That said he then proceeds to speak to her second point, "Right now?" Arthur's mouth moves as if he was chewing something, perhaps the inside of his cheek even as he smooths two fingers down the braid of his beard and looks thoughtful. "Vigilantes are needed because the system hasn't caught up with the evolution of the world. It's trying to, and right now it's having to play catch up. So it's taking short cuts. Which is why you exist."
    Then he waves his hand to the side, "Other than being a captive audience to my haranguing." Since obviously that's the other reason why she exists.

Jessica Drew has posed:
Eyebrows drawn together, voice lowered into a 'gruff agent', "Yes, Mr. Curry, it is my sole role in SHIELD to be your captive audience. A serious reprimand, if I say so myself. I wonder who has it in for me?"

Hands raised to ward off a protest from him, she twists her lips together, "I don't disagree with you, Mr. Curry. SHIELD happens to be my version of vigilante. Nick Fury brought me in himself after I escaped from some very unsavory people. So. Will you keep us informed? Come to HQ and say hello, even."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Hah!" Is the first thing that comes from him and then Arthur shakes his head as he takes up that second beer and /tilts/ it back as he brings it to his lips. His Adam's apple works as he swallows. And swallows. And swallows. Then he thumps the mug down empty upon the tabletop and leans forward to tell her, "No."
    There's a small 'erp' not quite a belch but he thumps his chest with a fist and says, "Scuse me." That done he plants his hands on the tabletop and pushes himself to his feet. "Thanks for the beers, Agent Drew. But our fifteen minutes are up, don't care what the clock says. Go tell your bosses only thing you can be sure of is that Arthur Curry is a jerk."
    He turns around and pushes open the small gate separating the cafe from the sidewalk and starts to head on out that way.

Jessica Drew has posed:
"Indubitably. A jerk. With capital letters. Kind of handsome in a rough and ready way, though. For a jerk." All of this is addressed to his large, retreating form. Hand wrapped around her glass, she watches him disappear into the crowd then sips her beer.

"Jerk."