2496/Which came first, the Arrow Cave or the Bat Cave

Which came first, the Arrow Cave or the Bat Cave
Date of Scene:	17 July 2020
Location:	Arrowcave
Synopsis:	Arthur goes to the Arrow Cave and embarrasses Ollie.
Cast of Characters:	Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Arthur Curry

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Oliver Queen has posed:
The Arrowcave has had it's share of guests in the past and present. And today it was time for Arthur to be down here. Was it the promises of food from Ollie? Or the chance of being curmudgeony and grumpy? Or maybe just simply visiting an old friend...

What's true is that the invitation had been sent and the secret door to the cave (which actually didn't go through the mansion but close to a hill range nearby) had been opened to receive the aquatic one.

Oliver had made sure to receive Arthur well enough. Some of his favorite beer brand available on a table, a few apetizers made by yours truly (yes, they are spicy), and the eternal water bucket on a side..., just in case Arthur wanted to get his feet wet. What? It was a joke from the start of the JLA.., one that had perhaps earned Arthur's wrath in the past (and some heavy dodging from getting knocked out of his senses). But someone was daring today.

Oliver was sitting by the computer area, dressed in the Arrow's garment even if the hood was down, going through some footage on the screens. "And that is how they apparently defeated Brainiac. The JLA didn't even have to mobilize."

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea is seated on one of the tables that the computer equipment sits on, platform sandaled feet swinging slowly as she does. She's dressed in a little midriff sweater-shirt and a pair of tight jeans, her brown hair cast in that wavy bob. "You know I got pictures of you making that stuff, right? If I can't borrow the car," //THE// car, "that's going on snapchat." She's in good humor and is teasing. Mostly.

She listened to the story, really, but where were her thoughts? Definitely on the black mail. Still, he was good enough to fill her in; everything she had complained about was being addressed, slowly.

"So, are they going to help, now that everything is back on earth?" That sounds so strange to hear, coming out of her mouth after stories of spaceships!

Arthur Curry has posed:
    Arthur's arrival was with little fanfare. Though assuredly Oliver's sensors detected that arrival when the secret door on the outside was opened and then the tall figure filled the monitor that was used to observe whomever might go in and out that way.
    At first the image was just the entrance opening, then the low-light showed the broad-shouldered figure in cargo pants and a t-shirt, pausing there to tie back his hair with a scrunchy even as he looks left, looks right.
    Then he looks straight at the camera and flips it off, while saying cheerfully for the microphone to pick it up. "Hey Arrow." Still flipping it off he starts walking.
    And then a handful of minutes after he emerges into the Arrow Cave proper, walking along now in the open air of the cave, strolling past the racks upon racks of weapons, casually touching a fingertip to a bow and plucking the string loud enough for it to make a /plink/ of sound.
    "Ah, you remembered." Arthur lifts his voice as he sidles on up to the table and flips the Molson out of the ice and into his hand, twisting the cap off with a clink and tilting it back.
    But once Ollie shows himself he'll _stalk_ right over to the archer arms spread wide as he calls out, "C'mon man, bring it in. Bring it in." And he goes for the full bro-hug.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"I am not ashamed of my cooking skills, Thea." Oliver replies with a brief roll of his eyes even as an eyebrow arches up. "I would ask you what you want the car for but ..., maybe I will leave it for another time." a smirk on his features. Sure, he knows it's mostly teasing. MOSTLY. "Maybe cooking is my superpower." keep those bellies full!

"And I don't know yet. I still hope so." The eternal optimistic, when he isn't brooding somewhere..

When Arthur comes up on the cameras and makes his way in he lets out a breath, specially at the bird-flippin' to the camera. "He can be such a child sometimes.." but a grin is on his lips. He gets up to his feet when Arthur comes in, waiting until he is drinking the Molson until he makes himself seen. "Welcome, been a while since you had been here, hadn't it?" he gestures towards Thea. "This is Thea. Thea, Arthur Curry.." then a faint squint of his eyes at the approach for a bro-hug. Suspicious ..., but what could go wrong? He moves in for the hug.

Thea Queen has posed:
"Mmmm... nothing big..." Thea begins, but then catches the behemoth of a man .. flipping the bird to the camera. She tilts her head sideways before ducking it slightly with a confused expression. "What.."

He's even larger than life when he enters the cave, and Thea's eyes widen as he veritably -stalks- to the beer for that first Molson. She's... speechless. Absolutely at a loss for words.

It's when his voice booms, looking for that hug. Hug?!

What could //possibly// go wrong?!

The introduction is probably lost, and that's //fine// by her because.. big. Man.

"Uh... hi." She's happy right over there, sitting on the table!

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "RRRAARGH!" Bro-HUG! It's a big thing, lifting Ollie up and giving him a squeeze. Not a super powered one to be sure, since it takes a good bit of effort for Arthur to ramp up that strength. But still a firm big embrace that picks Ollie right up and then sets him down at arm's length for the large man to rest his hands on the other man's shoulders.
    "S'good to see you." He says, tone a little more down to earth, more sincere than his usual manner. But then he turns around, arm still around Ollie and giving a squeeze of the guy's shoulder. "This?"
    He points at her so pointedly. "This?! Is Thea? That..." He holds a hand out a little to the side, "That little sprogling's all grown up, huh?" So nice to talk about someone as if they weren't there. "Last picture I saw of you you were..." He gestures with a hand off to the side, "Tiny."
    He gives a nod, then looks back at Ollie as if for confirmation, "I mean, she's still tiny. Relatively speaking." And then he starts forward, "Hey, kid. Good to meet you." And with that he extends a large hand toward her. No hug, not yet at least. Introductions and all.
    "Put her there."

Oliver Queen has posed:
It's not a common sight for Oliver to be caught up in the air. But there it is. Squeeeeeze..., then feet up. Oh, great.. Now he can only hope there's no pics of this. And woo, no bodyslam incoming, fantastic. Guess he doesn't have to fear the bucket joke anymore.

"Good to see you as well." The Arrow then giving Arthur an arm-shake, that greeting of old friends. Blue eyes then turn to look across at his sister, "They grow up fast." that's what he comments about the .., little sprogling's growth.

Yet as Arthur steps towards Thea to greet her he folds his arms together. His game face is on but Thea can tell there is an inner-amusement to the man right now. Pffff, brothers ...

Thea Queen has posed:
Even shorter by sitting on the table, though Thea can't help but cross her arms in front of her as they talk about and around her briefly. A soft *ahem* escapes her before she slide-jumps off the table and is.. a good foot, at the very least, shorter.

Dear lord.

A //look// is shot to the seemingly amused big brother before she extends her own smaller, delicate hand. "I'm not so tiny." Is that a bird chirping somewhere? She'll take his hand in that handshake only to find her own completely enveloped in his.

"Nice to meet you." Again? See you again? "Mr Curry."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    The handshake's strong, but not aggressive. Just a warm hand enclosing Thea's and giving a shake that's precise and controlled. Then he grins to her and straightens up. "So, you give Ollie his fair share of shit. Keep his ego from gettin' too big?"
    He asks that with such casual ease, glancing over his shoulder at the archer and cocking his scarred eyebrow up a little bit, amused entirely. "I know it's a damned hard job but somebody's gotta do it." And then he's turning away. Walking toward the table. Though he does pause long enough to thump at the bucket of water with the toe of his work boot, causing it to slosh back and forth a bit as he points at it.
    "Hah," A genuine laugh, that's quickly followed up with him calling Oliver, "Asshole."
    And then /thump/ he sits down at the table, grabs one of the buffalo chicken drummies and just _bites_ into it with an open and obvious love for the things. The sauce smears upon his lips, a bit in his beard though nothing a brush of his forearm can't handle.
    "So c'mon, sit down guys. Don't make me eat alone. Fill me in on what's been going down."

Oliver Queen has posed:
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about your own ego, Arthur?" Nope, Oliver won't get baited into it. Noooo.. Fine, he lifts his chin just so. Damnable guests calling on his ego, just because he is a billionaire vigilante it doesn't mean he has a big ego, does it?! Let's not answer that ...

The amusement is still there on his expression though, "We make sure to give each other enough shit. That's how it should be." He steps towards the tables afterwards, picking a Molson up and cracking it open then picking on another. "Want one?" this he asks to Thea, and he will toss her one if she answers affirmatively. Going back to the chairs he smirks when Arthur notes the bucket, offering a very brief bow. "Thank you." at being called an asshole.

"And I was mostly just going through some footage we have of Brainiac's attack." he leans over, taptapping on the computer keyboard and running the images again. "The threat is gone now. Apparently."

Thea Queen has posed:
"Absolutely," and Thea looks at her hand once she retrieves it and looks at Oliver with that.. look. "It's hard, though. Becoming a full time job, what with everything going on." Finally, though, she finds herself on a little more solid ground as Arthur turns around to stalk towards the table, pausing in front of that water bucket. Ollie's lucky he's not wearing it, apparently!

The younger Queen takes a couple steps towards the food table, and when Ollie tosses the beer, she's actually very surprised, but pick it easily out of the air. Training! (In catching beer cans?) There's the hesitation as she rights it in her hand before she pulls the ring tab back, letting the carbonation *fssst* a little so she's not wearing it.

Once she's got the beer, now she's full on heading for the table and sits down once a chair is pulled away. The wings, she'll delicately pull at.

"But I have no clue how they're planning on putting everyone BACK."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "That's good," Arthur says around another wing, taking his time with this one and pulling it apart, getting the meat from between the bones and then grabbing a napkin to dab at his chin. He leans forward on the table, elbows on it and everything. And if one were to just sort of squint while looking at him, they might well imagine they were back some fifteen hundred years ago, sitting at a table with some bandit chieftain indulging in a feast. So wild is his hair and beard, that he looks entirely the part.
    "There was a lot going down. A lot happening all over the world. S'good in a way that the world's shown whatever's out there that we can handle ourselves."
    A pause as he bites into another wing and murmurs, "Somewhat at least." Apparently the Heir-apparent to Atlantis is rather hungry. But he takes a swig of his beer and smiles as he pushes the plate over towards them so they can partake, even as he wipes at his beard.
    It's then that Thea gains his attention, "A question for the big brains. We have enough geniuses running around figuring out how to make the next cellphone or whatever. One of them will wrangle it out. Me, I tend more to hit things." Which, to be fair, might be minimizing his role to a degree. Perhaps Arthur's attempt at modesty? Nah.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Eventually Oliver finds his chair again once he gets the footage going, images of Brainiac's ship, flying drones in the distance. The ship appears to be on fire, almost as if falling..

Oliver contemplates the images for a time, resting back on his chair, elbows on the arms of the chair, knuckles under his chin. His favorite brooding posture, but it's not for that yet. "There is little more that could had been done considering the circumstances." he states, almost as if he had been following the problem closely. Because he had! "It does bring us back to the question of before doesn't it?" blue gaze sweeping over first to his sister and then finally resting on Arthur.

"If the the JLA is still truly needed or not. I choose to believe yes but.., we will see." he reaches for his beer, taking a long swig. Not touching the food as of yet though. Did he poison it?!!?

"I am not privy on the developments to get everything back, but I have no doubt that someone out there will know how to reverse this. Pym has used miniaturized techonology for years afterall.."

Thea Queen has posed:
That.. that question, it really never occured to Thea to ask it. Is the JLA needed?

The younger of the siblings reaches for a wing in order to try and delicately pull it apart in order to pop the bits of BBQ into her mouth, and she pauses, mid-yank. She has a confused look on her face, and she's looking between the two men now. "Needed? Of course it is." She sets her wing down and wipes her hands off. "Why wouldn't it be? Just because they didn't help on this one doesn't mean they're not needed." She's the one with a heart. "I mean, I can't understand why that would even be a question."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    Now it's on to some fried green beans that has Arthur's attention, though it's a more casual devouring now, his hips turned and with him facing the others as he listens and gives a nod. Every now and then he'll chomp at the food a bit and take a swig but not at quite the pace as he did with the wings.
    "I think we are. But I've been thinking with everyone else gaining prominence do we need to be quite so obvious?" A glance is given sidelong toward Thea as he speaks and nods when she offers her point of view, "World doesn't need to see us so much if we're actually doing the work. I know Bats would think that way. Diana has her own thing going on. But so long as we do our thing when it's needed."
    But then again Arthur never was one for the Hall of Justice or the... publicity.
    "If we can serve some role as something people can look at and derive some hope from, maybe. I could see that holding water." He stops and then points at Ollie, "Shut up." To curtail any possible wisecrack.
    "But I think there are people out there that provide that already."

Oliver Queen has posed:
"We already failed the first time when Superman disappeared." Oliver says, his eyes down on his beer for a moment before he -finally- reaches for a damn wing. Because he cooked it, might as well it one! "It was natural that some considered we weren't really needed anymore. That with the Titans and the Avengers the world is now in good hands." his free hand gestures towards the screen. "And apparently they were right. There are strong, good groups out there now."

The archer then stays silent for a few moments, beer set aside, mulling on his words until finally he continues, "And that's always been what I thought too, Arthur. That we can be a beacon of hope to the world. Yet can we really work together again?" because those egos aren't exactly small!

No wisecrack comes about holding water.., or not. Maybe he simply waits for an opening later on. Instead he looks at Thea. "Why do you think we are needed?"

Thea Queen has posed:
"Not everyone is good at everything," Thea murmurs. "There are things the mutants can't do that the Avengers can. Things SHIELD can't do that we could. Maybe it's where we can go. Maybe it's what we can do. Maybe it's our contacts that others don't have... I don't know." She exhales in a soft sigh and looks at Ollie; she's just been dropped into the deep end. Thanks, big brother!

Still, she begins to pick at the wing again, popping the scant meat into her mouth before wiping her hands once again and taking up the beer. Much better!

"Whether or not it's seen, it's still done, and it still makes some difference. A bucket instead of a teaspoon when trying to drain the ocean."

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Still, doesn't mean we can half-ass it and let other people do what we should be doing. We just..." Arthur leans to the side and takes another drink of his beer, frowning as his brow knits, amber eyes lowering before he looks between the two of them. "We just don't have to be a dog and pony show about it."
    That said he bites another green bean in half, then glances sidelong toward Thea. "Exactly, we should still do what we can. And the bottom line of that." He points at her with his beer, then sets it down with a clink. "Is that we do this better together."
    A nod is given to Oliver as he takes a deep breath, then exhales it slowly. "In any case though. Might not be the best place for little sister though. Since they can be such huge pests." He delivers that with a deadpan even tone, as if still talking about world-shattering events.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"No, just being together for the occasional smile and wave and photo shoot isn't my kind of thing either." Ollie comments first on Arthur's words about the dog and pony show. A nod of agreement there. If they were together it'd be for more than that. "And that's exactly the thing, if we can still do this together or not. Now, you both know I have spoken with others about it, Superman wants to return, of course. Batman has his doubts. He prefers fear to hope, or at least that's what he's trying to make himself think."

His eyes then set on Arthur. "As for you, you were a lot grumpier when I went to meet you at the pier some months back." a roll of his eyes. "I could even try to guess on what has made you happier about this, but I will keep my tongue." it doesn't stop him from snorting though.

Little does Arthur know that aggravating little sisters can be world-shattering events of their own though. Ollie has learned that by now. Yet he but smiles and replies. "Do you think she does not have what it takes?"

Thea Queen has posed:
See? She's right, and she looks pleased as she takes another swallow from her can. Setting it down, though victory looks short lived as the comment about 'little sisters' rise from the larger man. Blue eyes go wide, and Thea gets a determined look on her face that only flickers momentarily before it's followed by one of pure angelic innocence. Under the table, though?

*kick*

"Nothing wrong with little sisters," she mutters soon after.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Heeey," Arthur feigns a giganto of a wince as he leans down to rub at his ankle with a feigned look of such hurt in his eyes. So very hurt. Wounded assuredly. But his smirk returns as he looks back over at Ollie.
    "Ah man, I don't know." Arthur says about Thea in perhaps a little more serious tone than his usual manner. He looks across the way towards her and gives her a once-over, his eyebrow quirking as he perhaps gauges her with that glance before he looks back to the emerald archer.
    "I mean," His lip twists, "How long did it take for me to warm up about you running around with us? Some guy with a bow?" But then he leans across the table and grabs another beer, opening it with a hiss of suds and tilting it back to take a few swallows.
    "And hell, remember how long it took for you to think that the fish guy could pull his own weight, right?" Another /small/ hint at modesty there perhaps. But it's a rare occasion, so mark it on your calendar.
    Gesturing with his drink, Arthur says, "A lot of what we do isn't direct fighting, and there have been a lot of times we just needed the right person at the right place at the right time."

Oliver Queen has posed:
"Did she hit you on your achilles' heel?" Oliver can't help but smirk. Yes he is aware of such under-the-table attacks. He may have been on the rear-end of some afterall. His beer is again taken and he drains down the rest of it in one long swig.

"I was just going to say ..., some guy that talks with the fishes?" his arms return to fold upon his lap, relaxed, the Lord in his Domain! Yet he does nod at what Arthur says, because he is right. "It's true that this is no game. Trust doesn't come easy, and loss is a reality for us. We barely got through Superman's supposed death afterall. And considering the threats we face we need to make sure we are all up to it."

He turns his gaze upon Thea, "All this for him to say that he probably wants to test you."

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea pushes the can of beer away from her before she rises to her feet. "I get that. Not everyone is the right person at the right time. Not the right fit. Not the right place. But I'm a Queen. I can't just sit and do nothing. Not when I know all this is going on.. and after having met you." She falters before, "Again." Maybe. She thinks.

"I'll take any damned test you want." Except math. She was bad at that. And history. That too. "I sure as hell want to be a part." Blue eyes look towards Ollie, then back at Arthur. "And I have other things that I can bring along." The club. Space. Potential anonymity. "Tell me time and a place." It's a challenge coming from the petit brunette.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Test her?" A shake of his head is given as Arthur once again looks at the gal that they're talking about. "Not my job, kemosabe. She's your sister." But after he says that he sort of half-looks over at Thea and tells her with a wry grin, "No offense, kid."
    Then he looks back at Oliver and continues, "Besides my sort of test would be something like stranding her on a coral reef somewhere and telling her to survive for a week." Not hugely fun.
    But then, under Thea's response his eyebrows sort of widen as if enduring what he's characterize as a tirade, though likely unjustly. He takes a deep breath, holds it, then exhales it slowly. "So this is the why of the thing?"
    Why the invitation is perhaps what he means.
    Then he looks over at her and says, "Look, Thea. A lot of what we do doesn't matter how powerful you are. You look at the League and you see people from... all walks of life. Beings with superpowers, without them, and people with lame ones."
    He then frowns and coughs twice only to murmur under his breath, *CoughArcheryCough*. Then he smirks a little and looks back at her, "But one thing we all have, all of us. Is the desire to do something. And the guts to do it when the time is needed. It's easy to say you will and you can. But to find that out..."
    He shakes his head, those amber eyes meeting her gaze. "That can be rough, kid."

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea exhales in a soft chuff, and her jaw and cheek go tight. She understands, she does. And, quite frankly, she's never been tested under true fire. Ollie's walked through hell and back; at least that's what it seems sometimes. He's grumpier than he'd been before he'd left, before he'd disappeared. He'd... changed.

There's that moment, then, where she begins to doubt herself, and her posture, her manner and mien seem to waver slightly even if she does look to hold Arthur's gaze. She completely believes him at that moment, through the gruff, through the acerbic humor, she believes that it's an understatement when he uses the word 'rough'.

"I want to be part of it." It's got a plaintive quality to her tone, but she's not whining, not crying, not throwing a tantrum. It's a need; a spoken desire in the face of a VERY tall and intimidating man.

Arthur Curry has posed:
    "Well," Arthur shakes his head sadly and says, "We'll see what we can do, kid." And it's clear he likely will, and it might not be pleasant. A glance is shot over toward Ollie and he takes a deep breath as if trying to figure out what he's getting himself into.
    But then he can't help but tweak the archer as he says, "If your big brother thinks it's wise for his cute little sister to spend long hours in close quarters with the dashing future King of Atlantis. Hey? Who am I to judge right?"
    Again he shakes his head so sadly. So very sadly as he shoots a glance over at Thea, and gives her a small wink that her big bro can't see at all.