Owner	Pose
Sara Pezzini	This evening the recreation room has been taken over for a casual meeting. Sara saw no sense in making this something official and using the meeting room, it was easier to have comfortable chairs and a more relaxed atmosphere when talking about a dreaded enemy that has returned. Then again, that was how she looked at most things that aren't directly related to combat. Casual and comfortable, until you have to kick butt. Sitting on the table are numerous hoagies from Shorty's in Manhattan, different meats, cheese and breads selected to ensure there was something for everyone, and all pre-sliced into six sections for sharing. There are several bowls of homemade potato chips, and resting on the top of one of the bars are two Italian desserts; one is a tiramisu that some have already been introduced to, the other a container of handmade cannoli. Seems Sara's Aunt Ruth has been baking again. The wet bars have been been checked and doubled checked, just in case someone wants to wet their whistle, and the coffee brewing is Sulawesi Toraja, straight from the southwestern highlands of Sulawesi. Sara has made certain everything is there, but she's not really hostess material. There is good, drink, and dessert, her aunt would be proud that she thought of those things. Dressed as casually as she hoped to make this gathering, she had on a pair of jeans with black work boots on her feet, a sleeveless turtleneck shirt, and a light jacket over it to conceal her side arm.
Natasha Romanova	Natasha Romanoff is currently in the back of the room. Natasha is leaning against the wall, one leg braced up against it as she would be looking over at an old style flip phone in front of her that she would be texting over into. A few more button presses on it and the chime of an old modem noise announcing the dispatch of whatever she was sending. then the redhead going to turn her attention over to the proceedings, not making a move for the food as of yet. She has a few thoughtful expressions on her face as she moves to start to give things her full attention, social or business event proceeding.
Cael Becker	Cael has set herself up with a sandwich, some tiramisu, and a coffee dosed with a 'healthy' amount of whiskey. She's also kidnapped a cushion from a couch, and has set set it on the floor behind her, to lean back against as she seems to be eschewing the idea of chairs at the moment.     That might be becausee there's a massive white dog half-crawled into her lap, with his brightly colored service dog vest on, watching intently as she eats her sandwich with an almost forlorn expression on his face.     Why isn't the food for him? Humans can be so CRUEL.
Jennifer Walters	Jen has heard the clarion call of the Avengers and has arrived to answer it! Or, rather, she got a message on her Avengers comms unit that Sara wanted to talk to them about something. Whichever, it'll make a good break from wading in depositions all day long.     "Hey, gang!" she says as she walks in, dressed in a charcoal grey pencil skirt that goes down to her knees, a cream colored button down blouse and a matching grey jacket. With her is a briefcase and perched on her nose is a pair of glasses that she's forgotten to take off.     "Ooh! Hoagies! I could use one of those right about now." She grabs a plate and a roast beef sandwich and finds herself a place to sit. "So how's everybody been doing?"
Pepper Potts	Coffee is always appreciated. Pepper is present, an empty mug in hand as she sets out the sweetener and cream for her serving. She's watching as to who arrives, offering a smile as she tests the caffeinated beverage for perfect-ness. She's dressed in a well tailored business skirt suit; some might note that it is one of Janet's signature designs. A one of a kind with her flair. "I'm sorry, but Tony's working," she offers as excuse. It's an easy one; one that she's used for years in different venues. "I hope you don't mind my sitting in."
Wade Wilson	Wade is there in his usual Deadpool get up, complete with mask. Had he been disarmed before entering the mansion? Absolutely. Is he disarmed currently? Absolutely not. Will he make a production of the fact that he is still armed? Probably not. He sits back in one of the chairs, and gives the guests many who he is more than familiar with passive interest. He's the outsider among them after all. But when has that ever stopped him from putting himself into any given situation?     He had made a raid of the table as the food was being put out... no need to force others eating to try and consume food with his mug on display, after all. "I'm doing quite fine myself" he says, swinging a leg over one of the arms of the chair in what was -not- a family friendly position. "My spine was crushed in about six places a few days ago, but I got better... obvs." The smile in his tone is unmistakable.
Steve Rogers	Steve is currently looking over the spread with an appreciative expression. "This all looks great, Sara," he says with some enthusiasm, as he gathers up a roast beef sandwich and tiramisu /and/ cannoli, because he's not passing up the chance for homemade Italian desserts. He's wearing jeans and a white t-shirt and generally looking like the poster boy for Americana as usual.     He turns to wave at Jen as she walks in, and then comments to Pepper, "Honestly he'll probably absorb more if you tell him than if he's sitting here distracted. And I'm assuming this has got to be important, since Sara went all-out."
Sara Pezzini	Sara has poured herself a cup of coffee, two sugars, light cream, but remains standing, watching as the others arrive. She should have done this weeks ago, but honestly it has taken her this long to sort through the complete life time memories of a now very dead man. "Help yourselves," she states the obvious, people already doing so. Nods are offered, and a smile that is real. This is the first time she's seen this many Avengers in one place, and she was one of them... sort of. "I honestly have no idea what to do with the amount of information floating around in my head," she begins. "So I figured I'd gather up as many of you as I could, and we could figure it out together." Looking toward Pepper her smile brightens. "From what I hear, Tony is always working, and you are /always/ welcome, whether it relates to him not being here or not." Taking a sip of the coffee, she lets out a slow breath. "Deadpool here," yes calling her boyfriend Deadpool in front of her teammates made her want to laugh, but she went with it all the same. "And Cael, were there for the first part of this, before we knew what we were actually dealing with. I say that to explain his presence," because something told her someone would want to know why the mercenary was here. "Johnny Blaze and Artemis were also involved, but neither of them could make it tonight."
Natasha Romanova	Natasha Romanoff would glance at Sara with a 'are you sure you want him here' expression on her face. But still, her own difficulties, Sara was the best one to determine who she might need help with on this. So far be it for her.. "Have you also considered trying to seek out a specialist? They might also be able to offer some insights and we do know a variety of thaumaturgists if you feel they might be productive." As Sara would go on about Johnny Blaze and Artemis, the SHIELD agent would give a nod over in thought while turning to the others and look thoughtful while she would listen to things going on.
Cael Becker	"Apologies in advance for whatever shit he causes during the course of this conversation," Cael replies in a dry voice, giving a nod towards Wade, an amused quirk on the corner of her lips.     "Or not. I mean - I'm not his keeper. Thank. God." After another bite of her sandwich, she finally pulls a bit of roast beef off her plate, offering it to the great pyrenees in her lap. The treat is happily devoured the moment she says, "Go ahead."     Despite his accusing gaze, the pup was impeccably behaved.
Jennifer Walters	The presence of Deadpool is something of a surprise. He's something of a loose cannon and who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into while he's inside the mansion. He's there to help out, sure, but the man is unpredictable so he's worth keeping an eye on.     "So what are we dealing with?" She asks. "For those of us who ... may not have gotten the memo." She tries not to look around guiltily. No such luck.
Wade Wilson	Deadpool grins at the commentary of his placement. Even if the others can't see it, they can sure as hell hear it in his voice. "Oh trust me, Cael" he replies to the woman. "You don't want to be my keeper. The last person who had the job ended up taking a permenant leave of absence; from life." He gestures to the woman and her dog. "I like you and the pup too much to go that route, so I'm glad you don't want the job."     He grins at Steve for a moment. -He- was Wade's keeper for a time. It is only a couple years removed, but for Wade that was as good as a lifetime given his penchant for brain damage on the job. Another life, another emotional attachment forgotten. It is a pattern that made the Merc With A Mouth more than a bit uncomfortoable. But can't let the Avengers see the weakness. Not here and not now.     "Get it together DP. Not in front of the children" he says, more to himself than anyone in the room; that's just something he does.     "Aww... I miss the Bone Daddy and the..." he pauses for a moment, considering the bodily harm that might come from giving an Amazonian a funny nickname and corrects himself. "And Artemis." He grins at She-Hulk (no use calling a spade anything other than a spade, super human strength or not). "Secret society of magic users from the way they tossed fireballs around when we broke up their 'Make a New Witchblade' party" he explains. "I liked the hideout, save the fact that they had my girl in bondage against her will--consent is important with that sort of thing, you know." He tosses a wink to Sara in the most inappropriate way possible.
Pepper Potts	Pepper smiles over her coffee at Steve, and then at Sara. "Maybe he does," she offers with no little humor in her tones. "I won't swear to it, though." Sara's offer of welcome gains that brightening of smile, showcasing the lightly tracked freckles along high cheekbones. "Thank you, Sara.." The introductions do help; there are a lot of faces with whom she's not familiar. She'll get the guest list, as it were, from JARVIS later. Not to mention brief files; nothing deep. Just a 'who are they'? surface level. Glancing back over her shoulder to where Natasha stands, Pepper wanders those few steps back to stand with her friend. "I'll do what I can, regardless."
Steve Rogers	Steve grabs himself some coffee, then goes to sit down, crossing one leg to rest it on the other knee and provide a spot for his plate. He turns his attention to Sara while picking up the hoagie to take a bite, glancing around at Cael and Deadpool for a moment. Chews, swallows, clears his throat.     "None of that sounds good," he says with a deadpan sort of tone. "I'm guessing it was meant to be an evil Witchblade? That sounds... not good," he repeats.
Sara Pezzini	A smirkish smile lands on Sara's face as she looks to Natasha, and then to Cael... of course Cael would say something like that. She wouldn't go into the relationship between her roommate and her boyfriend, it would become obvious in no time at all. "No one is Deadpool's keeper," she offers first with a slight snort. "But I am insanely in love with him, so it's probably good we're dating, and I keep my eyes on him, right?" That was all the more information that would be offered on that, and might further explain why he's involved, once the rest of the information was out there. Taking a moment to look over each present, including Wade, she gets started. "I'm going to give the short version of things, then you can all feel free to ask your questions in between." A nod to each, to make sure they understand she's not trying to keep things to herself, just that there is a lot of information to get out. "This all started over a year ago," she dives in now. "Cael and Wade know about this, the day I woke up in the hospital with no memory of what happened. I had lost months of time, but still knew who I was, what I was capable of, even that I was Witchblade's wielder. That was the first act by the cell of the Thule Society here in New York," she sighs a little. "As Deadpool said, they stole a week of my life to make a copy of the Witchblade." Holding up her right hand, she shows off the silver bracelet on her wrist. It looks like two bracelets have been woven together into one, complete with a huge red stone on one part, and a smaller red stone on the other. "As you can see, we got the copy back," she then adds, lowering her hand. "But with it, during the unconsented act of bondage, I also gained the life memories of the man, Walter Meier, who was the second in charge of the Thule cell. There is /so/ much information in my head, between regaining my memories of that week, and this man's life, that I've been sifting through it to find the nuggets we need." Turning her eyes toward Steve she continues. "They want Witchblade's power, to fuel something even larger than what happened in the mines... which I didn't cover, but can if needed. They're planning something, and it is just the cell here, my knowledge of the other cells in Germany, and the rest of Europe is limited. The cell here is run by Ava von Strucker," her eyes remain on Steve as she says that. "She is not a clone, she's the real deal, and she's climbing her way up the chain of command, tooth and nail."
Natasha Romanova	Natasha Romanoff would nod thoughtfully, glancing at Pepper to turn her full attention over to Sara's talk. "So what's the best way to hopefully deal with them? Neutralize them and their cult permanently? Do you feel like removal of the leadership would be effective?" Natasha goes on to the more proactive methods of dealing with such monsters. Give them as little consideration as they do to those they victimize.
Cael Becker	"No one touches the dog," Cael counters Wade - without any actual heat to the words.     That doesn't last, however, as Sara begins to talk of the Thule Society. "They're fucking awful. They murdered children - and the lot of them need to go. Especially Strucker," she supplies in a cold, angry tone of voice. She can be a bit brusque - but this was a side of her she didn't show too often.     "I found that bullets dealt with them pretty effectively," she adds, her tone still no-nonsense. "There's no playing around with these guys. And besides - they're Hydra fanatics. If you defeat them - they do what a lot of Hydra agents do. They off //themselves//."
Jennifer Walters	"Make a new Witchblade?" Jen asks doubtfully. "Can they even /do/ that?" She shakes her head and the motion makes her realize that she still has her glasses on. She pulls them off her face and says, "I don't know much about this magic stuff, but it seems to me that making another Witchblade is no small feat."     She falls silent as Sara begins to explain. "Boy. Having a whole person's memories crammed in your head is a bit of a lot," she says. "Especially since it sounds like this Walter Meier is a piece of work."     Ava's name causes a raise of an eyebrow. "Ava von Strucker? Any relationship to Wolfgang?" She looks over to Steve for confirmation. If anybody knows anything about the von Struckers it would Captain America.
Pepper Potts	Pepper listens quietly; the story is definitely new for her, but there are little bits and pieces where she could possibly be of some help. Some are better ideas than other, of course. "Well, there's infiltration to find out what they're doing," she begins. "Technical surveillance," is added. "We do have the resources to tap into almost anything if we have names, or even if we don't." Green eyes fall on each before back to Sara. "I can easily see a way we can be of help without them ever knowing."
Wade Wilson	Deadpool snappoints at Cael. "My sentiments exactly." He shrugs. "They were on the path to it pretty well when we stopped them" he explains. "Bone Daddy--that's Ghostrider, aka Johnny for those of you not keeping score--managed to beat the shit out of the guy who thought he'd be strong enough to handle the" he clears his throat and affects an accent that -might- be Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies, "absolute powah."     "I mean, I'm all for cutting a cult down to nothing... but the issue with cults that have been around as long as this one has... ending them is probably easier said than done." He glances between Jen and Steve. Captain America -was- the foremost authority on Nazis in the room. In the room is the kicker in that statement. Important to make that distinction more often than not.
Steve Rogers	Steve's eyes narrow at 'Thule Society,' and he puts down his hoagie. As Sara continues, he puts his plate on a table next to the chair he's sitting in, uncrosses his legs, leans forward a little. His brow furrows and he focuses on the dual stones for a moment before looking back to Sara's face.     "Well... damn," he mutters when she's done, which is pretty strong for Steve. He huffs out a breath and sits up, slapping his thighs with his hands. "Well, I'm in. Just tell me where and when and I'll be there."     He looks to Jen and says, "She's Andreas' daughter, as far as I know--which makes her Wolfgang's grandchild--but that's about /all/ I know. Sounds like the rotten apple didn't fall very far from the tree, though." He sighs, and adds, with a glance at Deadpool, "Yeah, we've been trying to get rid of HYDRA for eighty years now, but they have that motto."
Sara Pezzini	Another sip of coffee as Sara listens to each speak, putting their questions in order in her mind so she can make certain to answer the ones she can. First was Natasha and Pepper. "Getting to von Strucker would be much like trying to capture clouds," she states first. "When it comes to her, she's protected by spells of teleportation, fire, and a few others that Witchblade doesn't recognize. To get to her, we're going to have to lure her out. I have names of some members, those who worked closely with Walter," she adds, nodding to Pepper. "Getting surveillance on them might not be a bad idea, but I also know the location of three of their safe houses, and their next major planned attack. I'll get you names Pepper, but I don't think physical infiltration is a good idea... magics have a way of reaching into your mind and finding the truth, and all prospective members are put through a hellish training, indoctrination, and programming routine before they get anywhere near real information... and I just relived that for Walter." She clears her throat and shifts gears. Cael covered part of what she was going to say, and part she didn't want to think about. The coffee gets set on the bar so she can add a dash of whiskey. It was time for some liquid strength, yet she was careful to only add a little. "They are Hydra, but they are looking to /be/ Hydra. If Walter's memories are correct, they are striving to take over /everything/. I think they plan to take on the other cells in Europe and either make them bow to von Stucker, or... they'll stop existing." A sip of the doctored coffee is taken before she switches to the other topic Cael brought up. "But yes, bullets hurt their standard soldiers. Those who wield magics, make themselves "super-human", it varies on whether bullets can touch them or not. No matter if they are soldiers or mages, as they call themselves, if they are killed they explode, and they are willing to kill themselves to cause that explosion. That's the tactic they used in the mines, when they knew they lost, those that hadn't already been killed, killed themselves, and the explosion..." she shakes her head. "I'm just glad it was a pocket dimension and not the real mines." And now for the tell-tale pacing that was Sara's go too move when thinking. "They can't make a Witchblade, not in the same power levels as the he is. He is the child of two gods," she pauses there for a moment, reaching with her left hand to turn the silver bracelet around on her wrist. "They can only hope to make a cheap, bastardized copy, and they would have succeeded if not got Deadpool, Bone Daddy," she couldn't resist that. "Artemis and Cael." "It's not been easy sifting through what von Strucker made me do during that week I'd forgotten," again no more details offered on that. "and even more difficult getting through Walter's memories, but I can tell you that what I've found thus far, this cell is massive, has had /years/ to embed themselves all over the US, and they are out for blood, not merely ours, but those in their own organization who won't bow down."
Natasha Romanova	Natasha Romanoff would nod over and be in thought, "Then likely best to have a specialist on hand. But you seem to have those." Among Cael, Ghost Rider, and Artemis. One needed experts in the local field. Her nodding her head in agreement with that of the foremost expert in the world on neutralizing Nazis. "There are solutions for those who are resistant to munitions." GEnerally they were called 'more munitions'.     "So if one cannot spear the lance of the boil, can their experts be killed? Magical knowledge and expertise takes time. Kill the majority of those, and it's just another cult with lunatics." SOmetimes one couldn't necessarily stop them, they could just remove the majority of the threat and then put them back on the pile to deal with the normal way. Kill off those that made its pecial and let them join the rest of the crowd of psychotics.
Cael Becker	"You're essentially suggesting finding and killing all their generals," Cael points out bluntly. "Far easier said than done. How are we going to pull off that particular feat?" she asks in a dry tone. "I mean. Don't get me wrong. I'd //love// to - but..." Doesn't seem feasible to me.     "I don't recommend pulling any punches with these guys. Or feeling any remorse about what we have to do. This is to protect lives."
Jennifer Walters	Jen nods in agreement as she folds her arms. "I'm always up for punching Nazis," she says. "Or Hydra, or the Thule Society or whatever it is that they want to call themselves. Call a corpse flower by any other name and it still smells like rotting flesh."     "So we know where they're going to strike next, we know their motivations and we know who their major players are, right?" she asks Sara. "Do they know you have Walter's memories? If not we can use that to our advantage."
Wade Wilson	Deadpool's grin is almost fixed on his face as he looks to Cael. "You know me. Unless it's kids, I never pull punches. Even then it's a toss up." He looks at Sara. "If you think these associates of Walter's could lure her out..."     There is a shift and the perpetual glee shifts to something darker, more sinister. "I could abduct a few of them and ensure they can't do anything to off themselves. From there... I mean... like I said, I don't pull punches and I'm not exactly under any moral code against torturing fanatic cultists."     He looks out at the gathered Avengers. He was pretty sure of those gathered only the Black Widow was anywhere his own level of moral ambiguity... and even that was a bit of the stretch since she was a part of the crew she was rolling with these days.
Pepper Potts	Pepper takes a sip of her coffee, finally, after it's cooled a fair bit. Nazis, infiltration, killing.. and she's more than happy to stay on the outside, offering intel from a distance. "No, I don't think physical infiltration would be feasible either, given what I'm hearing," she begins. "But once we can track them, we can track them anywhere." There are the Stark Industries satellites.. and more than capable AIs to do some of the heavy lifting, as it were. Twisting around to set her mug into the sink, Pepper smiles tightly in reaction to all that she's hearing, "Movement is important to know in order to get an idea of plans. Who they talk to, money pulled from accounts, all that tracking." Everyone leaves a path.. everyone. It's just how good a person is to follow it.
Steve Rogers	Steve sits back a bit and picks up his hoagie again. "The problem with fighting HYDRA, Thule, Nazis... you're fighting an idea. You're fighting /hate/. You can't ever assume you've won, and you can't just lump them off as 'lunatics.' There's people in the world right now--a lot more than anyone wants to admit--that agree with the Thule Society's aims, if not their methods. And might go along with the methods to go at the goal. I mean... we could get rid of HYDRA and Thule and Nazis and never have a single one show up ever again, and as long as someone out there still has the inkling of genocide being remotely acceptable, you're fighting the same enemy."     He frowns, then says, "The biggest problem these guys have always had is that they need a leader--a /single/ leader. Charismatic, ruthless, the works. That means von Strucker's the real threat, the one they're following, the one pushing for this 'new' Witchblade." He glances to Sara. "Right? I mean, if we get rid of von Strucker they'll come back eventually, they always do. But it cripples them for a while, gives us time to hunt down the stragglers. You can't get rid of hate, not yet anyway, but you can keep it from having power."
Janet van Dyne	Janet breezes through the doors like she owns the place, flicking them open with a push of her hands. Her assistant follows close, ducking his head at the Avengers with an apologetic posture, staying right on Janet's heels with a heavy black overcoat in hand. The socialite wears imperial red, a miniskirt and matching bolero-style jacket, worn open. The hems are embroidered with gold thread that sets off the sunray-yellow of her deeply v-necked undershirt. Ultramarine blue pumps match her exquisite sapphire earrings and a bangle for bright contrast, and the patriotic pendant at the hollow of her throat ties the whole outfit together. "Traffic in this city is absolutely out-of-control," she informs the crew with an exasperated tone. "It took me forty-five minutes to get here from Brooklyn. You'd think the city would let me install lights and sirens, right?" She glances back at her assistant and points at the service that Sara's set out, mouthing 'coffee' at him. He ducks his head and hustles over to hang up her jacket and start mixing a cup for Janet. The socialite herself walks to Steve's chair and pauses long enough to beam down a smile and touch his face, leaning down to kiss his brow before straightening and resting her arm on the back of his chair for balance. "HOMER had me tuned in though," she reassures the others, and touches a wireless earpiece. "I think I've got the gist of it. Y'know Pez," she says, addressing Sara. "You get me some numbers, some names and accounts-- I could probably find out more about their financials. I've got a few bank managers in Zurich I can lean on," she offers. "Bribe a few SEC or EBA agents, threaten the right money mule, I could get you something before the week is out."
Sara Pezzini	Sara actually laughs as she looks over at Natasha, she liked the way that woman thought. "Taking out their experts is a good idea," she states with a grin. "At least the ones that Walter knew of, he having been one of them. He knew of two, another two are known by the third, Anatasia Fedorov. Know her name, have no idea where she is. The second and third weren't allowed to ever be in the same place at the same time, and since Walter is dead, she's likely the second now and the third... no idea. All that said... I know two generals that we could go after, if we can find them." Finally pausing in her pacing, she leans back against the bar to get a little more comfortable. "Me having his memories is thanks to Witchblade, so they likely don't know I have them. When we took back the bastardized copy, Walter's memories were a part of it, and when that piece of Witchblade rejoined, the memories became a part of me." Glancing over to Wade she shrugs slightly, "I honestly don't know what will draw von Stucker out. The /only/ reason she was at the mine was me, that's how badly she wants Witchblade, she's obsessed with him and really has no idea what he is. She found a journal, kept by Tasya Federova, his wielder right before me. It didn't have a great deal of information on him, and even Walter couldn't understand the obsession that was forming in Ava, but he wasn't about to second guess her. Apparently there was something in there, just enough that von Stucker is losing her shit over trying to get the Witchblade. The thing with Walter was a test, to see if she could replicate him. Knowing she can't, she'll be looking for ways to get the real thing, which means... you guessed it, I'm a constant target." There is the briefest of pauses before she continues, a shift in the topic. "Cael's right though, there should be no mercy shown for any of these people. Each one is willing to kill you, your family, your friends, their children, the pets, and walk away with a smile on their face... and if they fail to complete their mission, more than willing to destroy the building they are in, killing innocent people in the process." Her eyes settle on Steve now, "I realize this isn't your style, you prefer to take prisoners to see justice done, but I also know you of all people can see just how dangerous it is to leave any of them alive. You are right though, to assume that getting rid of von Strucker means they fall into chaos until someone else can step up in her place." "Austin Macavoy," she just suddenly blurts out, then blinks cause she felt for a moment like she had tourettes. "Pepper you're a genius. I've been trying to find that name for weeks! He's the guy who runs the team in the cell who handle the money, thousands of small accounts all over the US, but only in the US. Find him, you find a way to the money and that's what I was trying to remember, so your mentioning it... thank you. I know there's another name rattling around in my head, but I just can't find it." That's when Janet casually storms the castle, or rather enters the room, and for a moment Sara is struck silent. When it came to appearing casual, Janet van Dyne was an expert, even when she wasn't being casual. "Names are the problem," she finally says, once she's got her brain back on track. "Just remembered one, trying to remember more, but honestly it's like a Rolodex exploded in my brain and I'm still trying to find all the little cards and put them back where they go." Taking another sip of her coffee now, she lets out a slow breath, brain frazzling slowly lessening as she shares the information. "The next major planned attack is Thursday, at the Bingham Canyon Mine in Salt Lake City, Utah. Part of it is a distraction, their going after gypsum crystals to fortify and use in set power circles, like what they used in the mine to hold me in place. Apparently they used up all they had for that endeavor, which failed for them, but are restocking enmasse."
Natasha Romanova	Natasha Romanoff would nod, "No, one can't destroy an ideology. One can't find and cull a beast. One can, however.. Kill off enough of the top to destroy knowledge. Then you have those that are not quite a spowerful, those who wish to be as powerful.. The sycophants, the adherents, thea mbitious.. All thsoe suddenly come up and out of the woodwork wanting to make sure they have a piece of the power. One has to upset enough things and the cart normally takes care of itself. So one doesn't have to defang an organization. Just destablize it enough and it will take care of itself. The loss of knowledge and experience hurts a great deal. When the ones on top have holes all the litlte lunatics underneath come up and try to take over. Work from within." That was admittedly a rather oversimplication.. But still as far as the redhead assassin was concerned, an effective one.     As Sara goes to discuss the specifics of her memories, of the memories put into the blade, Natasha goes quiet. Her facial expression being of one committing everything to memory for later followup.
Cael Becker	"Wade. If you go after any kids, I will personally ensure your face looks even more grotesque afterwards," Cael says flatly. "Because there's where the line is." Cross it at your peril.     That said, she seems to dismiss the matter from her mind, turning her attention back to Sara. She sips at her coffee, idly scratching at Bear's ears - still seeming perfectly comfortable on the floor of the Avenger's Mansion. Her attention shifts briefly to Cap, as he goes on one of this little inspirational tangents, then returns to Sara to comment, "Well. You know I'll lend a hand on Thursday. Does that tip our hand, too much? Let them know we have some sort of insider knowledge? But even if they know that - would they guess the nature of our knowledge, I wonder?"
Jennifer Walters	"I'm with Steve on this one," Jen says, glancing over at Cap. "I'd really rather not go on a bloodbath if we can help it. I know Wade doesn't have any qualms about it, but we're Avengers, dammit, and we're better than that."     She looks thoughtful as she mulls over a few thoughts. "Let's get the location of their other cells around the States while we're at it. We've got reserve members scattered around everywhere and we can call on them to root them out. We should also identify other Gypsum mines that they could be targeting as well."
Wade Wilson	Deadpool nods to Sara's dismissal of his proposal and shrugs a shoulder. "Worth a shot." He pauses as Janet enters the room and looks off to one side for a moment. "You see, there's making an entrance. And then there's Janet Van Dyne. Okay, let me be clear, she and I have a lot in common. We're both ruthless in our own pursuits, we both do an inordinate amount of drugs, we've both been in Captain American's pants, and lets not even get into the fact that she looks exactly like my lover in another universe. Long story short... I like her, even if I'm faily sure she doesn't know me. Her being in on this case makes things... interesting."     He comes out of his reverie like he hadn't just blurted out a small monologue about a few of the people in attendance. "That's part of why I'm here so you guys can keep up appearances. I mean, which of you guys wear red for -utilitarian- reasons." He glaces at those in attendance. "I do. So you guys can keep your squeaky clean appearances and when you look away for a split second," his voice shifts to a monotone mockery of dissappointment, "'Oh no. Deadpool killed them all... what are we supposed to do about that. He's a loose cannon. And not one of us Avengers.'" His voice changes back to its normal tone and he claps once. "See, everyone wins. Except the Thules. They die. Violently."
Steve Rogers	Steve gives Janet a warm smile and a 'Hey' as she comes over and gives him a kiss, and then follows up with a murmured, "You look great." Which she always does, but it's a good idea to note that you're noticing from time to time.     Then he raises his eyebrows at Sara and Jen. "What makes you think this isn't my style? You think we hesitated to kill someone who was trying to kill us during the war?" He shakes his head. "Look, you're right that I'd prefer to take them prisoner to see justice done. If someone surrenders I'm gonna want to accept that surrender. But a lot of times these guys, yeah, they'll kill themselves anyway, blow themselves up. So shooting them before they can do that saves more lives. Just because killing people isn't my /first/ resort doesn't mean it's out as a /last/ resort."     A glance aside to Deadpool. "And no, I'm not gonna 'conveniently' look away. If I'm killing someone, I'm owning up to killing them. If we can't capture them, and they're that big of a threat, then the right thing to do is accept the responsibility for the outcome."     He frowns. "Besides... you said teleportation, right, Sara? I mean, how do you even imprison someone who has /magic/?" A pause, and then, "No, seriously, do you know how or is that option just entirely off the table? Because having prisoners to interrogate /could/ be a good idea, especially once they become aware of what we know." He nods toward Cael.
Janet van Dyne	Janet beams approval at Steve's compliment, and runs her fingernails over his blonde locks with an affectionate touch. A beat or two later, she directs her focus back at Sara and nods once at the woman, acknowledging her difficulties with memory. "Don't stress about it honey," she murmurs at Sara. "But maybe we should give Doc Samson a call or something. He might be able to help." Her assistant delivers the coffee and retreats again. Janet rests her hips on the arm of Steve's chair, crossing her legs at the ankle for balance and sipping it carefully. The socialite makes a face and snaps her fingers at her assistant, beckoning him to bring her clutch over. "I love it when you talk like that," she advises Steve with a shamelessly audible murmur disguised as a sotto voce. A flask is extracted from the clutch and Janet pours a few fingers of what smells like rum into her coffee before handing it off again. "We could probably talk to Steven Strange," she suggests more audibly, in the wake of Steve's suggestion. "He knows that magic stuff. Maybe he's got some ideas. Else, y'know, there's always Wade's plan." She mimes a fingergun at Wade, makes a silent *pew* gesture at him. "Hell, I'll do it. Bioplasma to the face, dynamite up the butt, whatever. Toss them into the Microverse forever. Only good Nazi is a dead Nazi," she affirms, and puts her palm in front of Steve for a high-five while still regarding the rest of the crew.
Sara Pezzini	While the talking continues, Sara takes a moment to steal a chip or two. She's not really hungry, but she'd been dying to try one of them. This was a lot, and there was still a lot of information floating around in her head, along with all kinds of emotions. Some of those emotions were her own, for what she'd been made to do, others were Walter's, connected to his memories and dreams. There were a lot of things she was going to say next, but all the train of thought cars were derailed. She stood there, wide eyed and staring at Wade while holding her coffee cup in her right hand... then just busts up laughing, so hard in fact she has to lean against the bar again. For a short time she is forced to contend with the sheer delight she got in watching Wade derail things, just by being himself, and the fact that there was still information that needed to be shared. "I realize that killing is something you are capable of Steve," she then says, once she has control of herself again and her brain is focused back on the task, mostly. "In war, it is kill or be killed, I more meant that you prefer other methods first. Never meant to imply you weren't capable, because we all know you are, in many ways, and apparently Deadpool knows some ways the rest of us, except Janet, don't." Yep, she had to add that on. "It is my understanding that there are ways to inhibit teleportation," she continues, moving right on past the part where her boyfriend, in another part of his many worlds, was bed fellows with Steve Rogers. "But there are /so/ many unknown factors about how von Strucker put together her magical teleportation, that to counter it would be impossible... right now. If we can get some of those details, we might be able to, but honestly, I personally don't think it's worth the time or effort." Another pause, her expression going more serious. "When it comes to Ava von Strucker, the Ghost Rider has already deemed her life forfeit. He has judged her, and she is living on borrowed time. It's not my place to go into the details about Ghost Rider, but I can tell you he is one of the Spirits of Vengeance, and only kills those who deserve it." Letting that sink in, she takes another sip from her coffee cup then sets it on the bar. "In regards to Utah, we have two ways of doing this, one would give away that we knew they'd be there," Sara finally responds to Cael. "The other might mean letting them get some of what they're after before actually showing up. That's not my call though," now she looks right at Steve. "I'm just sharing what I know and leaving it up to those in charge to decide what we do and how we do it. I should mention however, nonlethal is difficult when your magical artifact, soul sharing buddy is all about sharp melee weapons. I have done it, I will do it, but I won't let anyone get hurt if I could have stopped it... team player, no escaping it." "I'm not going anywhere near any doctors, or mind readers for that matter," she adds bluntly. "Doctors would need details about Witchblade I'm not at liberty to share with them, and then they still wouldn't understand half of it... and mind readers, well... Witchblade doesn't like them and will yeet my ass out of the room to avoid them, even if I don't want to go. Some things between he and I are non-negotiable."
Cael Becker	Cael sips at her coffee without comment as Wade talks to the air - then simply turns back to the matter at hand as if nothing had happened.     "I think we might get more success out of playing the long-game. Besides - how rare and precious is gypsum? If we block them here - we tip our hand, and don't they just go... get it somewhere else?" she points out. "Hardly seems worth sacrificing such a big advantage," she points out bluntly.
Jennifer Walters	"And here people thought /I/ was savage," Jen mumbles under her breath. Louder, she says, "Maybe we can manufacture a reason to be there? We can 'just happen' to 'be nearby'" (she does the airquotes with her fingers) "when they go for it? We probably will want to stop them from getting that gypsum because who knows what else they'll use it for."
Wade Wilson	Deadpool watches Sara lose her shit at his antics. He doesn't mind. In fact, he likes that despite the dire situation, he can still bring her to fits of laughter. It's a good sign and one he is more than happy to engage with.     At Jennifer's pause he arches a brow. "Can we do that?" Wade asks, giving a look to Jen. "I mean... I do it all the time. Granted usually the end result is the guys I'm after find out I'm there and then chaos ensues, but that doesn't restrict me -being- there." He shrugs. "I mean, I am all for it if it's on the list of things that's allowed for The Avengers."     He shrugs. "Look, I'm still learning the ropes of what it is to work with the white hats." He glances at Janet for a moment. "Or even the grey ones. LAst week I was the assistant chaperone for a bunch of barely adults as we raided a genetic's compound so... this out in the open thing is a bit beyond the pale for me."
Steve Rogers	Steve blushes at Janet's comment, not that it's even racy or anything, but he does grin and high-five her. The only good Nazi is indeed a dead Nazi; he wouldn't have said the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials were /good/, at all. If he hadn't been, y'know, frozen at that point.     "I'd like to meet this guy who claims he gets to decide who lives and who dies," Steve murmurs, then says more loudly, "Strange isn't... well, okay, he /is/ that kind of doctor, but we're talking about magic, and /nobody/ I've heard of is better with magic. Maybe /we/ can't figure out how to stop von Strucker's teleportation, but I'd be willing to be he could. I mean, I assume your... soul sharing buddy wants this dealt with, right? Shouldn't we call in people, like Natasha's been saying, who are 'specialists'? That means magical people in this case."     He reaches up, almost idly, to offer to take Janet's hand; if she's too busy with rum in coffee that's just fine. But as he does so he says, "We want to draw von Strucker out, right? I say we hit the place, don't let them get away with their maybe-magic crystals. Maybe we give something away, but if we've got people on tracing financials and we can grab a captive or two we can figure out what they're doing next."     Maybe Steve just wants to punch a Nazi. It's his thing, after all. It's what he was made for. Punching Nazis.
Janet van Dyne	Janet curls her fingers around Steve's with that same idle reflex when he reaches for her hand, transferring her coffee the other way so he doesn't upset it. "The best thing to do in any case is some intelligence work," she suggests, trying to pull disparate suggestions and opinions into a common thread. "We gotta get a read on the situation. Then we can make an informed decision. If their assets on ground are high-value targets, then we can pull a plan together to take them out. If we decide there's no one there we really need, then we at least know when, where, and how they're pulling this ... job, off, whatever they're doing," she amends, "and we can hinder them or even maybe follow them to someone higher up the food chain. You can do a lot with a GPS tagger and bribing the right Generic Thug #4. I'm all for the direct approach but we can't afford to whiff at this job. Otherwise we won't get any prisoners, no intel, *and* they know that we're onto them." She waves her coffee cup in a short arc, mutely imploring the others in the room to see her side of things.
Sara Pezzini	"Gypsum itself isn't all that rare," Sara explains, having Walter's lovely knowledge to draw from on the matter. "Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Russia and the US are the largest producers of them however, selenite, which is one of the forms of gypsum, is quite rare. That is what they're primarily after, and the Salt Lake in Utah has recently spit out quite a few of them, so the cell is hoping to get in and collect more themselves. Trying to get in before the spring rains cover them back up, as they are formed through evaporation, it crystallizes the necessary minerals to form them." Blinking a few times she actually snorts and adds, "That was /way/ more information than anyone needed on the damn things." Adding more coffee to her cup, and a bit more cream, she looks back to Cael. "The thing is, this advantage won't last long anyway. I may know people and places, but their plans... the harvest in Utah, and one other in April are the only two I know about. After that, we only have the information on people and places to work with. I'm with Jen here, I think we need to actually /do/ something about their plans. The idea of them re-powering their containment wards with these crystals makes me, the one who was subjected to those wards, really nervous." "The other thing we need to realize is that they can explode themselves at any time, so to get a prisoner to talk to will require knocking them out, and keeping them that way until the magical enchantments on their clothing can be removed to stop the explosion," she offers in regards to a prisoner, whether they take a powerful one or not, they all have the same problem. Slowly her eyes shift back to Steve, he was, after all, the one in charge, or so she'd been lead to believe. Maybe it was Tony, maybe it was Steve, either way, right now, he's the one in the room. "He will likely be there on Thursday, so you'll get to meet him. Like Wade however, he marches to the beat of his own drummer, has a purpose we don't get to judge no matter how much we might want to." For one brief moment her eyes shift to Cael, but then move back to Steve. "I don't know if Johnny will be willing to tell you anything more than I have, that's entirely up to him in the end, but he has a set of rules he has to follow regarding the Ghost Rider, just as I do regarding Witchblade." Sara shifts her weight slightly, eyes looking to her coffee cup for a moment. "That will have to be between the two of you, but please... don't push too hard. Unlike me, who has way more control over Witchblade than I used to, Johnny's control of the Rider isn't as solid. Last thing I need is for one of my boyfriends to be the reason Captain America gets hospitalized."
Cael Becker	A thought suddenly occurs to Cael - and her fingers dig into the fur of the oversized pup in her lap. "...shit. I just volunteered myself to go back into a mine with these explosive assholes again - didn't I?" For a moment - she can remember the walls collapsing around them, while some SHIELD tech kept them from being crushed. That feeling of being trapped... with no exit. Her heart rate picks up, and Bear starts to whine, creeping closer to Cael to lick at her face, and nuzzle at her chest.     "I'm good, Bear. I'm fine. Lay off," she tells the dog, pushing the licks away.     "Okay. Back into the mines again. This is... fine." Just fine.
Wade Wilson	Deadpool gives Cael a look. "Would it help if I brought the lightsabers along again? You seemed pretty at ease with one of them in your hands." Okay, to be fair they were Asgardian vibroblades... but lightsabers fit better with the Disney brand and he had to pay homage to Lord Mouse from time to time otherwise he broke your fingers one joint at a time.     "They were pretty handy last time, right? Doubled as a light source and all purpose slicer and dicer." There's a grin in his tone (as almost always) and he gives the woman a thumbs up in encouragement.
Jennifer Walters	"Show up and go hard punching Nazis," Jen says, cracking knuckles. "I can dig it. Thursday, you said?" She pulls out her phone and starts poking around on it. "Okay.... Reschedule this.... move this over here.... /cancel/ that, thank God and.... now I have 'Punching Nazis' scheduled in as an all day event."
Steve Rogers	Steve raises his eyebrows at Sara's description of Johnny but seems to put it aside, at least for now. Maybe it won't be an issue, maybe it will, but they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. Instead he says, "Punching Nazis on Thursday, sounds like a plan. Janet's right that we need more intelligence, and hey, if we /can't/ get prisoners then we can't. But if we've got to move quickly on limited intel, then that's what we have to do."     He glances over at Cael. "You going to be okay, Becker?" Using her last name is deliberate, giving her some emotional space from whatever issue's come up.
Janet van Dyne	"Mm, if your man hurts my man, these earrings are coming off," Janet advises Sara. Her tone is just exaggerated enough to be a little on the theatrical side-- but then again, it's always a little hard to tell if Janet's being playful versus playfully murderous. She grins unrepentantly and takes a long sip from her coffee cup. "But if we've got Jen along, we've got the punching side of things covered," she observes. "Sara, you're a boss with that, um, Witchy thing, and Cael and Steve can handle arresting people and whatnot. And if we need anyone to make a heroic sacrifice to save the team--" she gestures at Wade. "So, y'know. Good hustle, good team, so on," she says, nodding encouragingly at the others. "We'll all meet up for drinks afterwards. Tony's treat," she adds, and shrugs one shoulder with a mocking indifference. "Miss the meeting, pay the bar tab. Right?"
Sara Pezzini	It's not hard to see through the theatrical aspects of Janet's comment, at the core of 'removing her earrings' it was a threat. There was a reason she warned Steve to tread lightly though, and that reason was even more evident by Janet's 'threat'. It wasn't just the idea of Johnny hurting Steve, it was all the waves that worked out from that possibility that she hoped to avoid as well. "Wade is not expendable," she states first, perhaps too firmly. Yes, she knew he couldn't really be killed, but that didn't mean she had to watch her boyfriend mocking sacrifice himself for the cause, he didn't need to know that kind of pain over and over again. "We all go in together, we all get out together, simple as that." Now her eyes shift to Cael, and she offers a smile. "No underground with this one," is what she offers with that smile. "It's a giant pit, I mean massive... and the only underground parts are the service and irrigation, I doubt we'll have to deal with that." Taking another large drink from her coffee, she finally walks over and sits on the arm of the chair that Wade's leg isn't over. "Thursday, punching Nazi's. They'll wait until after dark, minimal crew in the pit by that time, only half the usual workers on hand. When we're done, we'll go drinking on Tony's tab because I've always wanted to do that," she nudges Wade. "Prepare to drink your weight in alcohol, just so Tony pays for it." Looking over to Janet, a smirk and smile in one on her face she says, "Janet, his name is Witchblade. Feel free to call him WB if you'd like, but witchy thing... you should hear him screaming in my head. It's an insult apparently." She actually chuckles because Witchblade gets insulted by the dumbest things, but she still has to appease by making it known. Now she looks around at everyone else. "Are there any other questions any of you would like answers to? Anything at all, doesn't even have to be about this particular mission."
Cael Becker	"I'd be better with the things this time around. I have just a //smidge// more knowledge on how to put melee weapons to use these days," Cael remarks with a wry tone, her fingers brushing over Bear's fur as she tries to pack away her anxieties, and reassure herself that she's being ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.     Her attention shifts to Cap at his question, giving him a nod, and what she hopes is a reassuring smile. "Nothing to worry about," she promises him.     It's only once Sara reassures her that the mine isn't //underground// however that the tension really eases - and Bear begins to settle once more, resting his head on her lap. "Ah. My mistake, then. That's... good to know."
Jennifer Walters	"I don't know, Sara," Jen says with a smirk. "I weigh an awful lot. I mean, don't get me wrong. I can down an entire keg by myself and not feel a thing, but I should at least save some for the rest of you all."
Wade Wilson	Deadpool gives Sara a mocking gasp of srprise. "Oh... you do care" he says, holding a hand to his heart. He sobers a bit and says. "It's fine, Sara. If someone has to fall on a sword, better its me than anyone else." He holds up a hand to pause the rebuttal he is certain to come. "But I'm with you on this. We go in as one we come out as one."     At the mention of drinking his weight in alcohol. "Oh if Tony Stark is footing the bill at the bar, I'm going all out." Which given that Wade's never been drunk since his forced mutation... is saying something. He winks to Cael. "I'll make sure to pack a lightsaber just for you. Also..."     He looks at Captain America and rubs the back of his neck. "If I make lewd commentary while killing Nazis you're not going to take offense or anything right? I mean, look we're both Army. Well... ex on my part. But... it helps me focus when I'm killing people to give myself a running color of the process. I just want to make sure we work well together."     He pauses and quickly adds. "And I promise not to steal the shield this time around." He is -pretty- sure that was here. Or was that only in the comics. It's all so confusing sometimes.
Steve Rogers	"So I'm just gonna say, Sara," Steve comments, "it sounds to me like you're in charge of this operation." He smiles easily. "I don't mean that to complain, or try to wrest control, or anything. I say it because we need to know who's giving orders, who's making decisions. If you're the one who's saying that we need to put up with your boyfriend regardless of his actions," he squeezes Janet's hand a little at that, "or that Wade here isn't expendable, or that we're not bringing in other help? That's /fine/. But that means you /are/ in charge, not me or Tony."     He keeps smiling, and it's genuine, it reaches his eyes. "I know it's weird to stand here and go 'oh man I can't be giving orders to /Captain America/' but I mean, I'm not 'General' America or 'Commander-in-Chief' America. I take orders just fine, and so does everyone else here. This isn't your business alone, but these people are after you, and you've got the experience with this version. Go ahead and own it."     He nods to Cael, and adds, "I say we have a round to prepare for punching Nazis. Always good and bracing." Alcohol before combat, yep, time-honored tradition. Also after combat, to deal with PTSD, not that that's the best option. He waves a hand at Deadpool. "I've... well maybe I haven't heard worse, but close to."
Janet van Dyne	"Mmm, he does take orders well," Janet mutters in another theatrical aside after Steve's motivating speech. She sips her coffee with a certain studied aloofness and when she catches Steve's eye, she shrugs slightly and then flashes a beaming and unreadable smile at him. "Sounds like we've about solved this to death, so--" Janet squeezes Steve's hand and rises, draining her coffee and setting the cup on the table. "I'm gonna go back to work, and try to think up some more names that will piss off Sara's fencing partner." She winks at the police officer just to show she's kidding. "But do get me the banking information, and I'll put my people on it. Names, DBAs, account numbers. I use the same forensic accountants that the SEC and Feds contract through. *Wrecked* the guy who was trying to buy the building on 5th out from under me," she confesses with a wry tone. "One anonymous fax to the IRS and they had him up on evasion and all kinds of securities crimes in less than a week. Worth every penny, too." A finger prods Steve's shoulder, slides down his arm as she starts to step away. "Dinner tonight?" she enquires. "I'm thinking sushi."
Jennifer Walters	Sara had in fact been about to say something when Wade did the block, because yes she did care and she wasn't about to let him take one for the team that clearly, didn't want him there in the first place. So she lets him say his piece then states, "You aren't falling on any swords, peroid." She had just started to relax and get comfortable, settled in by Wade, almost ready to start joking around and then Steve drops a bomb on her head. She should have expected it of course, but honestly she's not really lead anything in her life. Usually she's taking orders from someone up the chain of command, even with the NYPD when working a case, there were people to answer to and reports to give. That isn't to say she doesn't have the skill set, she merely has never done it before and honestly... it was a terrifying thought. "Uh..." is naturally her first comment, before she can get her brain to kick into gear agaain and stop her mouth from sounding like a moronic thirteen year old child. "I'm willing to bring anyone in that the team thinks should be brought in, not against that, just against any prying into my brain. If the team decides more people need to be brought in, I'm all for it. Okay, that fire may or may not be out, moving to the next. "I can take lead on this, sure, no problem..." Yep that's a partial lie. "Okay, one small problem, but you covered it. I've never lead, always been part of the soldiers, so to speak, so that means I'm going to ask for opinions from everyone and weigh the options offered before making decisdions. Unless of course it's a split second decision. Alcohol would be nice, more than she'd put in her coffee, but that would have to wait until later and by that time, it wouldn't be desired as much. "Drink before, heavy drinking after, I can totally get behind that." She looks to Wade now. "Want to go get dinner later, you can tell me more about this broken spine problem, or rather, what caused it."
Cael Becker	"I'm all for sharing a round," Cael agrees - a brief smile flickering across her features. The tension has faded, and she rubs at Bear's head, murmuring quietly, "Who's a good boy, huh?" She works him hard, sometimes. How did she manage without the mutt before? Looking back up at Steve again she adds, "But I really am good now. Just- I had a brief spat of being... repeatedly trapped with no exit. Twice was in tunnels. You know how that sort of thing can be, but - if there's no tunnels, there's no problem." She'll be fine.     "Alright. Well. We should get together on Thursday, look over some satellite imagery of this pit - and see if we can make a more concrete plan before we go in."
Wade Wilson	Wade smiles at Sara, leaning a bit into her affectionately. "I'm good with that." He looks at Cael and nods. "If you need recon done on the place before Thrusday, I know you might not believe it but I'm actually good at scouting places out. I did it for the Outsiders on this last operation we had."     He looks at Sara and hints more at his previous injury. "That was where the spinal damage came into play." He pauses. "Though I did ruin a good suit after getting caught up in that Maybelline research factory. You won't believe some of the security makeup companies employ."
Steve Rogers	Steve was /just/ about to take a bite of his hoagie when Janet speaks and then catches his eye. He coughs, and blushes /just/ a little because they're in /public/, but smiles in return. How much of the bashful 'aw shucks' attitude is an act? Hard to say. His voice is certainly pretty steady when he says, "Sounds great. 7? Or do you have endless meetings?"     He looks over to Sara and says, "Always a first time for everything. The best leaders work just like that--take in advice and information, weigh the options, make decisions. Don't worry too much. I think you'll do great, honestly."     He grins. "Sounds like we'll be celebrating plenty after Thursday. Let's make sure nobody breaks a spine or anything, huh?"
Janet van Dyne	"Nothing I can't cancel for you, handsome," Janet reassures Steve. Her assistant waits patiently behind the socialite with her jacket in hand while she says her farewells. "See you at seven, then." She looks at the others gathered around the table and addresses them all with a wide, approving smile. "The rest of you-- don't do anything I wouldn't do, and definitely don't do it in front of the, uh, ops-cay," she says behind her hand, and gestures at Sara and Cael in a way that completely fails to be covert. With another beaming smile and a wiggle of her fingers, Janet turns on the toe of her designer shoes and sashays out of the room with her usual purposeful step.
Cael Becker	"I'm not going to be the one to arrest Captain America," Cael mutters to herself, pushing herself to her feet - and heading towards the door. "I don't care what he does. Com'on, Bear. Let's take you out."