Owner	Pose
Wanda Maximoff	Astoria Park marks a close point between Queens and Manhattan. In nicer times, it causes havoc for boats and gives very real headaches for any sailor unprepared for the bad currents. The Hell Gate park on the near side is where the Scarlet Witch finds herself. Maybe the place is a bit too aptly named. She, for one, claims to be no fan of such names. The detritus of a few hopeful games lies behind her. Kids need to play, evil angels in Manhattan or not. Manhattan is over there. Not here. Not where a game of soccer or snowball fighting can happen. The witch wears a dark peacoat and boots, staring at the side of the island. Her expression is lost to contemplation. Possibly to encircling the whole place in a ward of forgetfulness.
Ben Reilly	There's a young man in the park tonight. Ben Reilly. Manhattan is mostly empty, but he just didn't feel right about spending an evening in someone else's house. Without a bed to call his own, he's found the park for the evening. A cheap buck-a-slice pizza in one hand, there's a trail of cheese leading from his mouth to the pointed tip as he wanders past Wanda. "Have a nice night," he offers her in a neighborly sort of way before he pauses to get a better look at her, "Oh hey! It's you! No way."
Wanda Maximoff	The night wouldn't know quiet if it tried. Water gurgles through the narrows and spins in an unpredictable churn. Currents run deep and dangerous. There's a tantalizing story in there where life hangs on the brink, the order of things turned upside down. The centre of the universe bears no golden sword or great wings. She rubs her hands together to ease the cold. Her gloves are not good enough for the weather. "Ja?" The slanted query jolts into English. "Sorry, lost in my thoughts." English is good, but not that good, telling of origins far away. Ben gets a once-over, a smile. "Yes way. Regular person staring at river in park. Look at you, hero with a pizza. Any good?"
Ben Reilly	"Hero? Nah. Just a Queens kid enjoying the home turf." He takes a bite of the pizza, chewing for a moment and swallowing. He clearly considers the taste of it before he shrugs his shoulders. "I mean, it was cheap at least. My favourite place tends to be ... a bit out of reach at the moment. But this'll do." "So, you're just here for the park? I was worried Cthulhu was going to come wading out of the East River or something."
Wanda Maximoff	"Hero enough to get this close with a pizza slice," Wanda replies. His answer obliges her interest, and she has to follow up on Ben's comment. "What is your favourite place?" Knowing where to eat good food is a bit like currency. It's worth something. Shaking her head, she looks from the young man to the rolling river again. "Came for a walk, fresh air, space to think. Not really safe to live there now, is it?"
Ben Reilly	"Dominic's," Ben answers, looking reluctant for a moment before he finally takes the pizza box he's holding and opens it so Wanda can take a slice, "Out in Rego Park. My uncle used to take me there every time I had a tough day in school. So, you know, most days. Best pizza in Queens. Best in the city, probably. I'd say the world but I only have here, Gotham, and Metropolis as a reference so I need to collect more pizza-data." He sits down on a nearby bench with a huff, looking out across the river at Manhattan. "Not safe at all."
Wanda Maximoff	Out comes the phone, not as an act of rudeness so much as one of research. Couple of swipes and typing later, and she asks, "Dominick's on 8th Avenue? Or Dominic's with the wood-fired stuff? I want to make sure I have the right one. We have high standards for pizza." We, who is the royal we? Not her likely, but a blend there. Wanda turns the phone to Ben, and then says, "Let me pay for the piece at least." Debts can be an obscure quantity elsewhere, but she happens to be certain in this, in tone and in purpose. Beside, cheesy goodness is cheesy goodness. No need to speak of the awful food she's survived on. "No. Terrible being here, on this side. But too many hands."
Ben Reilly	"No way," Ben says at the offer of payment, shaking his head and holding up a hand, "Pizza is better shared. You can pay me by letting me have the bragging rights of chowing down with my favourite Avenger." That's right. He said it. "And yeah, the one on 8th. You can't miss it. Big neon sign."
Wanda Maximoff	Wanda laughs around the piece of pizza hovering near her mouth. "I insist," she waves her hand. Good things don't happen all at once. Maybe they don't happen obviously at all. A nudge of fate here or there can bring good benefits to others. "Put above Thor or Captain America? Not that I've done anything to deserve that high praise." Another bite is small and quick. She will not inhale the pizza in front of Ben or any other stranger. "Neon sign. Got it."
Ben Reilly	"C'mon," Ben offers, grinning broadly, "Scarlet Witch? How I could I not put you at the top of the heap." Ben takes a bite of his own pizza, looking sidelong at Wanda and grinning with his mouth firmly closed.
Wanda Maximoff	"You like blue more than red." Wanda doesn't even crack into laughter when she says that. She prefers to comfortably enjoy eating food, specifically the pizza. It warms her when the dusty cold wind whirls around them and trash locked in the river ends up trapped in the whirlpools eddying along the shore. He gets another guest at the bench. "Why you wander out this way? It's not safe."
Ben Reilly	"I don't know," Ben offers, lifting his shoulders in a shrug, "Where's safe? Aren't these angels threatening to destroy the whole world? I might as well just go wherever. Besides, there's a maintenance shed near here that they never remember to lock. I'm thinking I can sleep there tonight."
Wanda Maximoff	More thoughtful nibbles of the pizza reduce the tomato-saturated dough to not much but a scrap. Crust, a few oozing strings of cheese she has to work off her fingers. Wanda tries to be tidy about it. "Everything," she says when finished. "Everything and all of it. I don't like any of this, what it suggests or the impact it has on other people. The vast majority put at risk by the actions of so few." Her hand closes reflexively. So much anger, but where to direct it? Probably nowhere worth directing it to. Ben's reality is more direct. She isn't stupid. "This close to the river isn't safe for that. They can cross quickly. The weather gets more cold on the far side, whereas you might find more luck a few blocks deeper. No one's looking up."
Ben Reilly	"There's a lot of abandoned houses," Ben admits, looking over his shoulder, "People who left because of Manhattan being evacuated. But I feel weird about using them even if nobody else is. I don't know many places around here, and it's getting past the point where I need to either find somewhere or stay up all night." He clicks his tongue, shaking his head: "Don't worry about me. You seem like you have a lot on your mind already."
Wanda Maximoff	"On this side, there are enough places that don't see anyone living there. Foreign owners, landlords putting them for lease. You can sin many ways, but finding shelter or food isn't one of them." Wanda slips her phone away. Not much to be done for her fingers or her gloves, as long as the cheese stays away from making them oily. "I should be on my way." A fact of that. But not without smiling. "I'll remember this. You know me, but I don't know you."
Ben Reilly	"I'm just a guy," Ben says with a shake of his head, "Not worth knowing. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll find somewhere away from the river."