4386/Getting Acquainted

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Getting Acquainted
Date of Scene: 12 December 2020
Location: Cafe Lalo
Synopsis: Hank invites Jacqueline on a dinner date, only to see it interrupted by Whirlwind.
Cast of Characters: Hank Pym, Jacqueline Falsworth




Hank Pym has posed:
Shortly earlier at the Avengers' Mansion...

"No more of that ugly brown suit Dr. Pym! I'm sending it out to be cleaned and then burned. You are wearing your blue suit. Black shoes -not your cowboy boots!"

"But Jarvis I just..."

"Dr. Pym do not let me call in the highest authority on matters of fashion... Ms. van Dyne."

"I'll be good.

"Very wise Dr. Pym. Remember, you will be in the company of a Lady."

"I know she's a lady, the dress and makeup gave it away... "

"... Dr. Pym, please look her up on your phone while I get your pants."

"I don't see what the fuss is... about..."

"Good God sir, you were married to Ms. van Dyne. Stiff upper lip! It's just some dinner."

Now...

Hank Pym enters Cafe Lalo, a small and nicely arrange bouquet in his hand and looks for a certain hit with a Lady lady under it.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline arrived somewhat earlier -- not a long time, mind -- and was escorted to a table at the far end of the restaurant near the window. It's a small table, beside a pillar and a tall window that looks out onto the evening street. Christmas lights are strung around the window frames, and wrapped around lamp posts outside. There is garland within and a bright, festive atmosphere to the interior.

The English woman glances up as the American man approaches. She gives a small smile and rises to her feet. Her attire isn't much changed from earlier -- still a stylish pantsuit, loose black trousers and rich teal jacket instead of the grey ensemble from the afternoon. Her blouse is a deep burgundy, instead of the pale blue that better suited the grey. "Doctor Pym," she says by way of greeting, that cordial smile on her face once more. "You're looking well."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym nods his head. "Thank you... please call me Hank. I don't usually insist on the doctor outside of academic circles, Lady Falsworth."

He hands her the bouquet and waits to sit down after her.

"The city is beautiful this time of year. If it were Christmas all year round, I'd live here full time. How do you like it?" He takes a deep breath.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline gives a small, knowing smile as the man uses her title. "In which case, please, call me Jacqueline. I rarely insist on my title outside of peerage circles." Yes, the websearch brought up on his phone earlier says that she's in her late 30's and heir to the original Lady Falsworth-Critchon and, thus, all her holdings, both private and commercial.

"It's lovely," she agrees. "New York is indeed one of the great cities in the world. Of course, I'm also partial to both London and Paris, but, certainly, New York completes that triumvirate well."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym suddenly rubs his head. "Oh drat. I had a Fedora I meant to wear. People used to wear hats as opposed to stretched out socks all the time. I figured we'd go hand in hand so to speak. Ah well, I'm so sorry I had to leave abruptly. Duty called. Also a fairly large consulting fee if I'm being honest. I'm trying to help my daughter set up her own facilities but it's hard. O I hope you like flowers, nothing fancy, just miniature roses. Ah, Did the Captain ever get in touch with you?"

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline's lips twitch again with amusement. "Yes, they did. My grandmother was quite fond of them. I suppose that's why I am, too." Her own fedora, a bright red color, hangs with her coat on a nearby rack.

She glances to the flowers he reveals. "They're lovely," she says. "Thank you."

She shakes her head briefly. "I've not yet heard from him, but I'm sure I will. He's usually a gentlemen about such things, as I recall."

Now, her head cants slightly to one side. "What is it your daughter does, then? She pays you as a consultant?"

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym smirks a little. "No. I'm not working for her yet, though I don't rule it out. We both do consultation work. She mainly works in physics. She also is a new superhero -Waspette. She works with the Titans, and almost everyone. I don't see a lot of her, busy, busy little wasp. In the last job, I sort of brought her in and split the check with her. She has her own money though thanks to Ms. van Dyne's merchandising skills. But I wanted to contribute, you know. I try to encourage her. I frankly haven't been easy lately. I had some complications from my powers and I was a handful. Things are much better now. Do you have any children?"

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline nods to what he says. But when he asks whether or not she has children, a fleeting sorrow flits through her eyes, buried less than a heartbeat later. "No," she says, clearing her throat briefly and reaching for the ice water the server brought her while she was waiting for him. "No, I can't say I do. I can't even say I've been married."

And that's the truth. She can't say it.

She glances around and a server approaches to offer Hank some water and take their orders.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks at his menu a moment. He catches the fleeting look haunting her eyes. "Funny story... Nadia was stolen as a baby and raised by some old hardline Russians as an assassin. She only escaped the last year. I had no idea I was a dad. Suddenly I have a sixteen year old living with me... then pfft she's living everywhere. Hopefully we'll get together for the holidays. Are you in New York till New Years? It's really quit a show. I might open up my old lab. It has a small view of Times Square."

Yes, he could but he doesn't really have anyone to invite. That'd be sad.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline blinks mildly at his revelation about his daughter. "I... see," she says, brows drifting toward her hairline. "That must... be a very complicated situation to try to navigate. How is it you didn't know about her? You said you were divorced... three years ago, was it?" She can't help her curiosity, really.

"Oh," she chuckles, then. "Yes, I'll certainly be here through New Year's. I've relocated to the city for the foreseeable future. We've just opened a new headquarters for the Americas and I felt the need to oversee the transition myself."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks embarrassed. "Janet was my second wife. I was married to a woman from Eastern Europe. We foolishly returned there for our honeymoon. She was kidnapped and these... filth, sorry, abducted her, and faked her death. She was pregnant with Nadia. And yes, it's complicated. Her mother is dead as far as I can tell. They not only took my wife, they took my daughter's childhood. She says reading about her father gave her hope to resist and eventually escape. Obviously she didn't get to read about my fall from grace or she'd still be there. Unfortunately... I mean she's a great girl, she LOVES me, but she has no idea what to do with Hank Pym the father. Maybe we can work out a better solution. Maybe not. I'm learning you should accept people for what they are or just stay away. But I'm talking too much about myself. Tell me more about yourself, please. I didn't get past reading about your title before. I might have swooned, in a manly way of course."

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
"Mm." Jacqueline lets out a dry chuckle. "Indeed. I don't know that there's all that much scintillating to tell. Certainly no deep dark secrets of that particular nature." No. Her deep, dark secrets are more occult in nature. "My father passed away when I was quite young, so my role model was my grandmother. Very... old school, I suppose. But it's served me well. The business has kept me busy and I have found that I quite enjoy the flexibility and diverse interests it allows me to indulge."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym orders an omelette and a glass of wine from a server. "Ah same here really. No more glory days. I spend most of my time in the lab. I probably should have stayed there. I think I do more good in one week there than in my entire super hero history. Anyway these days there are younger heroes who can do it better than me and I really don't like violence... it solves nothing..."

A sneering voice suddenly interjects from nearby, "Violence solves everything, you has been!" A a buzzsaw blade is flying at Hank as he turns in time to see it coming at him inches from his face, too slow to duck, having merely human reflexes. His mouth opening in the beginnings of surprise, and it all playing out in a leisurely fashion to Jacqueline.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline's order is salmon with a mild white wine pairing. And as the server retreats, she turns her attention fully to the man opposite her. Fully, that is, until the sound of a buzzsaw blade flying through the air distracts her. Everything slows down for her. She turns her head, eyes settling briefly on the face of the sneering man, before she turns toward the blade seeming to hover in the air between them.

It's an automatic movement, really. She doesn't think. She simply reaches out with one hand to tap the back of the blade. This changes its trajectory so that, in real time, it swerves away from Hank's face and embeds itself heavily in the brick pillar beyond them.

"What was that you were saying about supervillians?" she asks of the doctor, as that blade sends shards of bricks flying. She pushes back her chair, standing up away from the table.

Hank Pym has posed:
David Cannon, Whirlwind stands in his full gear in the cafe. He lifts his arm to fire his remaining blade at the Avenger...

Who is gone. A certain Lady of course see Hank shrink and hop out of his clothing, even as the second blade slices into his mostly empty suit. The tiny hero makes a piston style leap at the supervillain who stares, wondering if he got him.

"Everyone get down! So Cannon, new costume, same lousy aim.

"Where are you Pym? Come out and fight me like a man or people will get hurt!" Whirlwind grabs a handful of of forks and spinning rapidly (to most people) flings them all about.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline watches the forks fly. She knows Hank is doing his Ant-Man routine. And she can't very well stand by and let innocents be hurt. It goes against her nature. Thus, leaving him to tackle Cannon head on, as it were, she moves faster than most people can see, flipping the forks around and reversing their trajectory. Of course, this leaves a trail of friction fire in her wake, but it fades rapidly -- hardly lasting seconds.

This sends the forks sailing back towards Cannon. They may not do much against his armour, but they'll probably provide a decent distraction. A rain of high speed metal projectiles usually do.

She returns to her starting point and then, at a more normal speed, starts herding nearby people away from the fight -- resorting to superspeed and reflexes to create 'happy accidents' that block incoming attacks whenever it seems they might be hurt.

Hank Pym has posed:
Forks spang and zing off Whirlwind's armor with no effect besides a couple of curses. In the hail of utensils a large bottle of olive oil is ignored, till it hits the floor and shatters at Whirlwind's feet.

Again Lady Jacqueline is the only one who can really appreciate the slapstick humor of the scene as Whirlwind struggles mightily to regain his feet, his legs akimbo and his spinning slowing.

It slows way down when Hank grows from 12 mm to 170 cm, right under his nose, his fist planted squarely in Whirlwind's solar plexus. Of course this is all painfully slow to the Lady. But it might look exciting to the citizens. Whirlwind oofs, grabbing his stomach, still slowing.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline would laugh at the villain's haplessness, but she's more concerned about making sure the civilians are safe. With crisp British tones that somehow always seem to attract attention and garner response, she encourages them to continue to move away from the fight -- and sometimes smears condoments or oil over the lenses of their cell phones as they try recording the incident. No sense giving TikTok more fodder than it already has.

It's not like she hasn't had practice at all of this.

As the villian goes down, and the civilians are gathered at the opposite end of the restaurant, Jacqueline turns back to watch him bounce. She can speak from experience: A slip and fall on slick surfaces does have a way of knocking the speed out of a body. Especially a spinning one. She doubts Cannon will end up doing a lot more than resembling a flipped turtle in a tin can. She could intervene, but... Pym really does seem to have this under control.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym grows to reach the high ceiling in the cafe, holding Whirlwind by his helmet wings. "Go on and spin and we'll see if I can hang around long enough for you to break your neck, you creep! You're lucky people are watching right now, I can tell you that. Oh the heck with it!" He slams Whirlwind's head into the ceiling, knocking him cold and dropping him to the floor. Everybody okay? Jacqueline?" He looks around seeing a lot of scalps before spotting the strawberry blonde. He takes a deep breath, suddenly seeming drained. And wearing what amounts to an armless, legless leotard. A trickle of blood runs down the side of his face.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Whirlwind goes down and Jacqueline gives a small smile before she schools her features into a more appropriately concerned expression. She does arch a brow some at his unorthodox choice of an understuit. But, she'll concede it's better than nothing but briefs.

It's something a shame, to her old fashioned way of thinking, that men no longer wear undershirts. So little is left to the imagination, these days.

"I'm fine!" she calls, stepping away from the crowd -- some of whom applaud the blonde man's victory. "Do you... need help?" She looks appropriately... perplexed, really. What is she to do with or for a 12' tall dinner companion?

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym slowly shrinks back to normal sized. "Can you people be nice and let me get some clothes on? Thank you... I'll be glad to hang around for pictures. Somebody calling the police? Good." He gets into his pants, the shirt and jacket of his suit ruined. He shrugs into the jacket anyway, better than nothing. "I'm okay... oh not ok." He presses a napkin against his temple and sits down.

"So, Jacqueline... how do you rate this evening so far? How many stars do you give me?" He starts chuckling.

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline inhales a breath, as if to reply, and then just closes her mouth and lets the breath go. She gives Hank a wry smile as she considers her response. Finally, she says, "I will say it's one of the most unusual dinner dates I have had in a while. At least I can't say it was boring, Hank."

She does, however, look around at the partially ruined restaurant. There is the sound of sirens in the distance. "However, it also sounds like it's quickly coming to an end. Or, at the very least, a pause. I imagine you'll need to speak with the local constabulary before too much longer."

She also imagines they won't be getting their dinner here. Shame. She was looking forward to her salmon.

She glances to the lingering crowd, some of whom are just now discovering their smeared camera lenses. "And I think your fans are waiting."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym nods and picks up the bouquet and hands it to Jacqueline. "I... was having fun... we should do this again... not /this/ but you know this." Then e leans in to give Jacqueline a quick kiss on the cheek. If she stays there of course. He'll also whisper, "You are a very impressive woman. I'd like to arrange a date in safer environs if you would like?"

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
Jacqueline is perhaps a little surprised at the peck on the cheek. But as it's accompanied by the flowers and meant as a polite gesture, she accepts it graciously enough. Both it and the flowers, which she now cradles in one arm.

She does step back a pace, though not far. Just enough not to be unseemly in public. There are, after all, some clear lenses around. And they're focussed on the couple, no doubt.

She chuckles softly, giving an easy smile. "That may be something to consider." It will largely depend on what he considers safer environs. She'd be happy with a restaurant with less windows. "Though, I do feel compelled to ask: Does this sort of thing happen to you often? If so, it may not much matter where..."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym rubs his face for a moment and says, "More often than I'd like to admit. I was thinking my lab at the mansion, surrounded by security systems and a few giant ants. Or my house in Cresskill. No one goes to Cresskill to fight super heroes. It's two bridges and a toll road..."

Jacqueline Falsworth has posed:
"I'll consider it," Jacqueline says with a smile. She's not sure that eating in a lab is suitable. You never know what residue may be lurking. As for Cresskill, that's negotiable. "Perhaps I'll find an appropriate venue that's closer to the city." And that she can secure on her own.

She offers her hand to him. "It has been a pleasure, Hank. I'm sorry we didn't actually get to enjoy the meal. But, I expect we can rectify that sometime."