2873/Backyard BBQ and shocking visitor!

Backyard BBQ and shocking visitor!
Date of Scene:	11 August 2020
Location:	Angelo's Carriage House
Synopsis:	Shazam crashes a backyard BBQ, asks for advice
Cast of Characters:	Achilles, Sara Pezzini, Billy Batson

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Achilles has posed:
    Yes, despite the age and maturity.. or apparently due to a lack thereof, Angelo is wearing cargo shorts, a Teeshirt emblazoned with a STYX band logo, and a 'Kiss the Cook apron as he reaches with tongs to turn the lamb meat he is cooking over charcoal while music from the band he is advertising plays on a bluetooth linked speaker off to one side, "And then I simply told him... no, don't do that. I have a feeling you'd rather live through the night. You know me... total peacemonger eh?" he says to Sara as the two of them stand around the grill and he reaches for his beer to take a sip while turning to smile at Sara, waggling his eyebrows.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The immaturity has either rubbed off on Sara or is one of the underlying causes for their friendship. She wears a pair of cutoffs with the pockets exposed and a faded Grateful Dead Bertha tee inherited from her father. A mile of bare leg ends in bright blue toenails flashing on her slim bare feet.

Shaking her head at Angelo, she holds up her sweating beer to him, "To the peacemaker. Right?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam had a long day. See when those Damage Control guys and City workers have an actual indestructible superhero type to help out, they give him all the dangerous to him, and a body camera. After walking several hundred meters of storm drains for several hours, allowing the engineers to examine damage caused in the fight with the Juggernaut, Shazam was allowed to go pack to clearing debris and after several more hours, allowed to go. Needless to say, Shazam was dusty, dirty and disgruntled. A trip through a storm cloud resulted in little beyond mist and drizzle. He at least washed his face and hands. In the end several lightning bolts stung but blasted the grime away.

Then a tug... he is a creature of magic and he can feel it sometimes. This is a persistent yet familiar tug. He slows down and abruptly drops to a landing in a particular yard. In fact the Mightiest Mortal drops to one knee... cargo shorts not withstanding and says, "Sire..."

Achilles has posed:
    Sire. Sire? Angelo hears the word behind him. He's not someone with any mystical senses. Sara has more than he does. But the Witchblade really is ridiculously cool. He sips his beer and turns his head to look back towards the newly landed Shazam.
    He swallows the gulp of beer and then turns the rest of his body. "That's me. All about peace." he says as his green eyes slide to Sara. Memories flood over Angelo and he takes a long deep breath and lets it out slowly.
    "... Bollux." he says softly. "I am not -your- sire kid. Please stand up. You want something to eat?" he asks, pointing tongs at the grill.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
A single decided pulse of the bracelet on Sara's right wrist announced that some sort of weirdness was incoming but there was no accompanying image. It was up to her to parse this being, well, man, reverentially kneeling behind Angelo.Two thoughts predominate in her first welter of impressions: their quiet BBQ has gone quite weird and Angelo will never live this down.

Field training has beer dripping on the stones of the patio, Sara grasps the bottle like she is about to leap into a bar fight and cold cock the kneeler.

Both the Witchblade and Angelo throttle her response and she manages to save some of it. Her mouth closes and her eyebrows rise at Angelo's expletive and invitation.

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam gets up looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I watch a lot of Game of Thrones. I'm sorry to come busting in on you. Hello Miss. No I just... I been looking around for you since we met. So here I was flying along and bam it's you! I... you know what they say two's company. I don't want to intrude. Listen could I meet you somewhere to talk? I need advice, badly. And... you made an impression on me."

Achilles has posed:
    Side-eyeing Sara, Angelo takes another breath, "You didn't answer my question." he says as his eyes turn back to Shazam. "Hungry? I have some lamb steaks.." And with that, he looks to the grill and reaches to turn them over once more, one at a time. Then he looks back and lifts a brow, "Are you old enough for beer kid? If not, I do have some fruit juice inside."
    And then he shakes his head, "Oh sorry. Kid. This is Detective Sara Pezzini of the New York Police Department. She's.." He glances her way and grins in a sly manner, "my girlfriend. So anything you say to me, she -will- hear about so, there's no sense in trying to keep anything from her. Plus.. Detective. Get it?" he asks.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara definitely catches the side-eyed glance but focuses on the young man. "Of course, he's old enough to drink beer, whether he wants one is another matter. We have great root beer, too. Something Angelo swears by from the archaic mid-west."

The detective bobs her head at the newcomer, "He, in his archaic way, is asking you to bond with him over some lamb meat and alcohol. Call me Pez."

A corner of her mouth lifts as her eyebrows rise higher at the word girlfriend. Another glance at Angelo before she confirms, "We do like to keep each other up to date on certain things, so please, if you don't mind my being here, feel free."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam looks at Sara and says, "I don't think I want any more people knowing about my personal life. No offense Detective. I'm not on great terms with the city right now. I just got done cleaning up my fight with the Juggernaut. Thank you uncle, I don't have to eat or drink or breathe. I'm fine. It's good to see you doing so good for yourself... I was a little worried when we left off. I'll let you guys get back to your barbecue." He gets ready to leap back into the sky.

Achilles has posed:
    "Oh sit down." suggests Angelo as he points at a lawn chair with his tongs. "I am not asking you to share personal details that you wish to keep secret. Though I might argue that Pez here..." He pauses and looks her way, "Seriously, how is your nickname a candy?" But then he shrugs and turns back to regard Shazam. "I'd argue that she can definitely keep a secret when it's for a good cause. But it's your business what you want to share. You said however, that you wanted advice, and that you -needed- some sort of assistance so... let me try to help, okay?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"It's too hot for me to feel offended." The Brooklyn in Sara's voice is pronounced in contrast to the flair of Britain in Angelo's voice. "I'm /not/ the City or a representative of it. I'm Angelo's friend and operate on the principle that his friends are mine. Or, at least, ideally. If it makes you feel more comfortable you can have some time together after we eat. Okay?"

She rubs the silver bracelet around her right wrist thoughtfully, "I have secrets from the City, as well. Big ones."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam stops a few inches off the ground. He suddenly looks tired. "Listen... Pez, I'm not trying to be stuck up but... my secrets kind of overlap with other people and I can't talk freely because I can't tell other people's secrets. Anyway, if you didn't watch the media, I fought the Juggernaut, and was partially responsible for a lot of damage. I'm not being sued or anything... there's a Samaritan principle or something but I didn't like my performance or the clean up and... I need to learn more about brawling at the very least. I... need a coach and it seems like everything in my stupid life is going wrong."

Shazam does sit down and accept a beer, ignoring the bottle opener in favor of a fingernail. "Not like I can get drunk. I thought I did once. I don't seem to be protecting the people I'm supposed to protect. Pantheon got trashed by Black Adam. Juggy beat me until B... the other guy was injured. My new friend... has to go away because she had an origin or something. She's running around in a spare FF uniform. Anyway I thought someone was going to approach me to join a team by now... no dice. So I don't have other heroes I could ask to help out. My sister seems to be running with the Titans already not to mention Supergirl. Unk, you got more experience with this stuff than me... was that Wizard demented or something setting me up for this?!"

Achilles has posed:
    Stepping over, Angelo places a hand on Sara's shoulder and gives a bit of a squeeze. "I understand .. Shazam." he says towards the kid. He's trying not to call him Kid, because that could undermine confidence. "Look. Nobody ever wrote a rulebook for how to be a hero. And -I- certainly am no hero. What I am... is a fighter. War is the only thing I've ever been -truly- good at."
    And he lets go of Sara as he approaches Shazam. "What it sounds like to me is you are climbing into a car with a learner's permit and trying to win the Le Mans." He pauses, "That's a 24 hour race in France." he adds.
    But he shrugs, "I don't mean to tell you that you can't be a big hero. That you don't have the potential because if the old coot... I'm sorry, I mean wizard, blessed you with the Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Heracles, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the... questionable as it might be.. courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury, he would not have done so for someone who was not worthy deep down. What you need to understand is.." And he grins, "There is an adage as old as competition and combat. If you honestly believe you are going to lose, no matter how good you are, you will find a way to make that happen...."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam shakes his head. "You don't understand. When I went at the Juggernaut I gave it all I had. I'm not... I think I use the Courage part least of everything. Maybe it's to protect me from fear spells or maybe it lets me heal fast like you at a certain point. Anyway, I tore into that big jerk. I hit him with everything I had and more... I was depowered for a while. I sure wasn't thinking of losing. No, I got a whole cheering section in my head, your double leading them. But I nearly leveled Manhattan... It was that near a thing. If I snap, what could I do? Who could stop me? ... Okay Superman could but by the time he hears about this and flies over from Metropolis... I could be up to stuff, let me tell ya."

Achilles has posed:
    A pause, and Angelo shakes his head, "You know. Just a moment." he says as he turns to step into the kitchen. He comes back out with a souped up tablet computer. SHIELD Issue. Yeah, Achilles, agent of SHIELD. But he has the Juggernaut's file. He loads up the toughness part, where it describes 'no known force can pierce the magical force field protecting Juggernaut'. Not even Mjolnir, the Hammer of Thor. He turns that part of the file towards Shazam and says, "This is not an enemy you defeat with brute force. The way you beat him is to make -him- react the way you want." A pause and he adds, "Perhaps make him angry enough to pursue you away from the civilians?" he asks, "I've never fought the guy, but in all reality, my only 'super power' is the fact that I can't die."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam looks at the tablet and then says softly, "I... hurt him."

Achilles has posed:
    "Your power comes from magic. But his comes from the Gem of Cytorak. He heals faster than you can hurt him, and his defensive field is tougher against the -physical-. But he has also been fighting for years. But a part of his power is once he is moving forward, no force can stop him." offers Angelo. "So tell me.. in hindsight, how would you fight him?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam thinks about it and says, "I'd do it with Thunderbolt and Pantheon. It don't sound heroic but I could blast him and they carry him to the North Pole or someplace like orbit while he was healing. Or I guess I'd do it myself if they weren't around because, you know... the Titans call. Sheesh."

Achilles has posed:
    Shaking his head, Angelo sits down. "I wasn't asking for how you'd -hit- him. I was asking you to think bigger than that. Think strategy, not just... hitting him harder. Sometimes the answer to a nail that just won't go in is -not- a larger hammer. Sometimes you need to soften the wood."
    He leans back and looks up to notice Sara has stepped away to the far side of the yard, or maybe inside to give the two privacy. He smiles at her thoughtfulness, and at the same time grimaces. But he shrugs and looks back to Shazam, "When someone cannot be stopped... the answer is not to make a bigger roadblock. The answer is to figure out how you can -redirect- him, or even force him to move -harder-... into a trap you've devised or whatnot."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam steeples his fingers and says, "Okay, that's well and good but... he really got the heck out of there when I blew his face off. I mean when you're in a leaky boat and can't bail enough to keep from sinking, maybe you keep bailing till you can think of something better to do because if you just sit and think... blub blub..."

Achilles has posed:
    "Well, then apparently you don't need advice. You already know what you're doing. Right?" asks Angelo as he lifts a brow, "You came to me to ask advice, and everything I suggest you find a way to dispute and correct. Do you -want- help, or do you just want someone to tell you that you're right?" he asks, leaning forward, turning towards Shazam and resting his elbows on his knees.

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam leans back and says, "You raise a valid point. When. I was... before... I usually had to outwit bigger, stronger guys. I guess it is easy to forget this when you can do the stuff I do. Ah heck... I don't listen to anyone. You're right. I can fly, I have speed, I have the lightning. I brought the fight to him and it was his kind of fight. I should be de-elevating things"

Achilles has posed:
    "More to the point... you are a hero. Not just a fighter. -Why- do you do what you do? To fight? Or to help people?" asks Angelo. "I fight wars. I am a soldier. I am not a hero. Being a hero is about helping people, not about winning fights. What does it matter if you can beat someone... if doing so destroys the neighborhood and the lives of those you are there to protect?" he asks, "You need to ask yourself what your -objective- is... to win the fight, or to save the people? If you are there to save the people, then use strategy and lure him away form them. Get the fight somewhere more safe."

Billy Batson has posed:
Shazam gets up. "Yeah. Hero. I keep saying it enough I'll believe it. Okay. I'll take all this to heart. Thanks for knocking it into my thick skull. And I'll let you and Pez get to your barbecue. Thank you." He lifts into the sky with a waves of his hand and soflty calls, "G'night." Then he's gone leaving a trail of sparks.

Achilles has posed:
    "Long game kid. Long game." mutters Angelo as he sits there watching Shazam fly off. "Guy's as impulsive as a high school kid." he adds with a shake of his head as he stands up to go remove the meat from the grill. Then he reaches up to jingle an honest to goodness triangle he keeps near the grill.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Steps can be heard on the stairs leading to the second floor. Sara without being told knows that the young man that had dropped in for some time with Angelo has gone. She passes through the kitchen to grab a plate and joins him on the patio, the air infused with the delicious scent of grilled lamb. She brushes by him with a brief peck on the cheek.

"That smells so good, Angelo. How did that go? Did you want anything else to drink?"