A Message for the Fey


Metropolis Cafe

Metropolis Cafe, the only one presently open for miles.



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Jericho's former safehouse in Metropolis is situated in a nice neighborhood within walking distance of some decent places to shop and get food. For a reason. Because when one is in hiding, one wants to move about as little as possible in the initial stages to minimize the possibility of getting found. It's purely by coincidence that the hacker has caught up with Pepper at a coffee shop a couple blocks from his old safehouse. Honestly, actually never crossed his mind and he's not entirely sure Audrey is using it right now.

Between the attack on the SHIELD annex and his conversation with Zee today Jeri's looking a bit rough and has a lot on his to do list. Top among them is catch up with Pepper and ask her if she can get in touch with Rune and host a gathering of magical types.

Audrey has certainly taken her time about using the safe house. Paranoid as she is, she spent weeks watching it. And traveling between the cities. Doing her best not to be predictable. But eventually, she determined that it was relatively safe for her to stay there. And after that, it was eventually time to venture out into public. Part of which apparently included actually using some of her stockpiled cash on new clothes. Granted, they probably still came from the thrift store, but thrift stores in this part of Metropolis are generally a sight nicer than the ones in the slums of Gotham. Which means the jeans, sweater, and pea coat she's wearing actually blend in here. The combat boots could be written off as teenage rebellion. She's only going so far, though. The coffee cup she cradles between her hands is absolutely from McDonalds and not Starbucks.

Pepper Potts had not planned on staying in Metropolis past today, but seeing how much there was to do, she's still here. She's spent so much time making phone calls that she actually managed to drain the battery on her StarkPhone. Now she's having to wait for it to recharge, and thus has gone to one of the few places currently open despite the city being almost completely without power.

Only the most crucial buildings — hospitals and the like — have had power restored via hastily installed Stark clean energy generators, so places like this are making do as best they can. This coffee shop, by virtue of the proprietor's ingenuity and a well-rationed supply of heating oil, is open and sharing coffee with the many crews working around the clock to get the city back online. When Pepper heard about it, she came straight over, rewarded the owner with every last bit of spare cash she had on hand, and placed a call back to New York to have her stash of Tony's favorite coffee brought over as hastily as possible, along with as much bottled water as could be transported safely.

Falling out of the informational loop sometimes is a good thing, and the past few days have been no exception to that rule for Jim Reha. Summoned by Pepper to assist the brain trust of Stark Industries, he's largely been running around, getting coffee, offering oddball bits and pieces of advice and thoughts that the average lay-person might think of instead of the far more refined SCIENCE aspects of the father - son combo.

He just knows that Metropolis needs power, Pepper may need him at some points, and in general it's hearkening back to some very dicey days decades past when he was stationed in Guam. It still boggles his mind a bit that a city like Metropolis could lose so much of its power grid so quickly.

So making an 'emergency supply run' off the books wasn't too far outside of the purview of the things that he'd be doing to help, not in the least. Corvinus is eager to help as well… to save all of these lives is rather important to the future of this world in its opinion, and it can push the limit of 'safely' at least to the alley back of the store. Though what coffee has to do with this, it has no idea. The strange bird-like being lands behind the coffee shop and with a shrug, lets Jim back out, wearing a nice bright yellow safety vest and hard-hat. He secures the pallet for the moment, then walks into the establishment.

"Oh, hey Pepper. Partner decided to cut a corner for you, given the circumstances. Seemed faster and safer than what you were going for. Pallet is out back."

Then he hands a secure banker's bag to Pepper.

"As you requested."

That's when Jericho walks up. He's in long sleeves to keep the burns out of sight, but he's definiely walking a bit stiffly. Pepper may have seen him like this before. Jim and Audrey likely have not. His eyes are blazing, a sure sign that he's upset, and his rather distinctine blade case is swinging behind him. "Pepper? Whew, there you are, I've been looking everywhere for y- wait… Jim. Oh Hello. Not interrupting I hope?" He hasn't seen Audrey yet.

Audrey hardly looks like herself when she isn't swathed in layers of clothing that's all too big for her. Here, things that fit make her easy to miss. Jericho, on the other hand, stands out. Especially when he's carrying that blade. And moving stiffly. When she catches sight of him, Audrey pauses, frowning slightly and changing her path to try to follow the hacker and see just where he's headed. Just in case he needs help, of course.

Pepper Potts smiles as Jim arrives and hands over the banker's bag, and seems pleasantly surprised to hear that the Corvinus actually offered to help. "Tell Corvinus his willingness to assist is greatly appreciated." She looks about to say more, but that's when Jericho arrives (the young woman already here has not yet really registered to Pepper, sorry). She looks over when he speaks up, and goes from surprised again to concerned as she sees that he's clearly had a particularly tough day. "No, no. It's fine. Please, Jericho, sit." She pats Jim on the shoulder, basically suggesting he do the same, then steps over to talk to coffee shop proprietor briefly. The bankers bag is handed over, the pallet of coffee and water waiting outside slated to be brought in before looters get wind of it, and then she's back with a teapot and several cups.

"All right. What's going on?"

Stiff walking and soreness is not a strange thing to Jim. Even with the Buddha Bird's 'magic' healing and the noteworthy efforts of healers and physicians, Jim has felt that whole 'run over by a truck' sensation and that body language from Jericho is a dead give - away. He doesn't, however, call direct attention to it — Jericho has a fan club, and if they showed up right now it could be a horrific mess.

"Yeah, it's me, Jer. Running around doing errand - boy duties for Miss Potts and the company… and the partner decided that it wanted to one - up me. And no, you're not interrupting anything I'm aware of? I mean, we're in a crisis situation, when you're in one of those you address what you can and step on up, keep moving until you drop or the situation is back on its own two legs, so to speak?"

Jim nods to Pepper. "It has a lengthy list of concerns that we can go over at a later time, they're not crisis - worthy."

He sits down and keeps a wary eye out. Even with things in a state of flux, there's no telling behind what contractor a HYDRA might lurk…

Jericho leads to Audrey to a red headed woman that she may recognize if she follows the paper at all. And a middle aged man. "No you can stay Jim. Pepper, I just need you to get ahold of Rune if you can. Illyana thinks that maybe a gathering of magical types can help with a problem we're having… and it'd be nice if you could host it. Neural ground and a- hang on." Maxwell has just pinged him on the HUD. He turns slightly and… facial recogniztion softwere kicks in. Audrey gets a bit of a smile and a motion over, albiet a subtle one.

Audrey keeps track of the news. Which means she recognizes Pepper, too. When Jericho gestures her over, she pauses for a moment, watching the group, before shaking her head slightly. No way. Stark Industries spokeswoman? Way too much chance of getting caught on camera. Even by accident. Still, she watches the group, apparently unwilling to completely abandon Trent.

Pepper Potts glances from Jericho to the young woman and back, then smiles a friendly hello to Audrey before starting to pour the tea into one of the cups she brought. The first is offered to Jericho. "I can do that, certainly. And I think I know what you mean by neutral, and I know just the place. When would like this meeting to happen?" The second cup is handed to Jim. It's not her usual loose leaf, but it's palatable enough.

At the mention of a magic 'problem' Jim sits up a bit straighter, taking out a pen and a notepad. Sometimes having one foot in the previous century technologically is a huge help, especially when all the power goes away. He starts to make an outline on his notepad, leaving plenty of space under several pages worth of headers.

Jim accepts the tea with a thankful nod, and the stalker-esque person (Audrey) gets a second glance before he goes back to his brief overwatch.

"Any details you can share in the short - term? Not Gandalf here, but I might know a thing or two? And how is Miss Illyana doing these days?"

Jericho nods a bit at Audrey's refusal and doesn't call her out anymore. She does get a text though. 'Pepper's a friend. Don't come over now but if you ever get into really, really deep trouble, go to her and tell her I sent you. She'll help.' He knows Pepper. She's good people.

"Don't worry about her. And Illyana's doing fine. More or less, we've got some problems developing that are going to involve all of us. Well, I hope not you guys but you never know."

Audrey doesn't keep a phone on her; way too susceptible to tracking. But the one left in the apartment will get the message. As it stands, though, the moment people are looking toward her, she's turning away and moving back down the sidewalk, sipping at her coffee. Nothing to see here. Just another teenager getting out of the house.

Audrey returns to OOC Land.

Pepper Potts glances after the young woman, but as she's moving away she doesn't put her on the spot by inviting her to join them. Instead, she pours a cup of tea for herself and lets it warm her hands for a bit. The shop might still be slinging coffee, but they're able to do so entirely because they're NOT heating their establishment. "We should be able to get a hold of a good handful of people." And if she asks Fenris to help with contacting people, even more than a handful. "Have you been to a small tavern in Queens called the Silveroak? Dana is a good friend of the owner, and I'll bet if we ask nicely, we can hold the meeting there."

"I'm not worried about her, and good to hear."

The salt and pepper'd haired fellow scribbles a few more notes.

"Have you heard any of the jargon being tossed around? I mean, any terms that come to mind would be handy, I can break off and do a little bit of review for a few hours?"

Okay, it'd probably be a bit more than a few hours, but Jim does have skills in the area, if not the ability to force magic to be his tool. And sometimes having an extra insight from the non-casting yet involved can help. Can hurt, too, but hey, can't make an omelette…

He sips at his tea for a moment.

He nods at the name, though he doesn't remember being there recently. Of course, with his apartment being… at any rate…

Jericho nods with a pensive frown. "I'd not heard of the Silveroak but I'll bet Illyana has. We've got a bit of a trip coming up though it's going to be a bit dangerous." Jim gets and odd look. "What's that about jargon there?"

"Any of the magic terms being tossed around? I know a few things? I can probably put together a bit of an informational packet depending on how obscure whatever it is you're talking about is?" The portly fellow thought he was being pretty clear, but attempts to clarify and make it a bit clearer than mud.

Pepper Potts nods. "Well…" She glances at Jim before lookign at Jericho again. "You know Dana's family history, right? The Silveroak is considered neutral ground by her father's side of the family." That's about as specific as she feels she can get in a public venue.

Jericho shakes his head. "Other than some names and a thing about Mab and Winter…" Jericho doesn't want to say much more than that. Not in a public venue much like Pepper. "Ah, sure Jim. Anything you have on Mayan Blood Magic, Witchcraft and Hermetic Magic would be helpful because… you know…"

"Wow, folks aren't messing around. That's three different systems that mix together just a slight bit better than oil and water." Jim lets out a slow appreciative whistle. "I'll do some digging into the overlaps and come up with some things, what kind of deadline we looking at for this meet and greet?"

Jim inwardly shudders a bit. Something has been nagging at him with the recent events, and it hasn't been the partner…

"I'll toss in what I can cross - relate with End Time prophecy, signs, and portents!"

That pen has not stopped writing, even as he thinks of other things to address.

"Illyana tells me that it's dangerous and from what I've seen so far I'd tend to agree." Jericho steps closer and lowers his voice. "Look, they used it to attack a SHIELD satellite annex and send it into some kind of shadow dimension full of monsters. Killed four of the seven people there. Whatever it is, we need countermeasures or a way to track them. Illyana and I ar going to investigate the soruce but anything that you can come up with here would be good. And… be careful. Especially you Pepper. Magic seems to find you a lot."

"She's right. And… that's some serious power. I'll also work in sympathetic angles as well as possible counters for the empowered. I'd suggest getting John on board on this if you can find him, and Rain. Be safe and careful with this… someone pushing this much stuff together with so much brute force… this is definitely NOT how this sort of thing is supposed to work. It'd be like putting a PC on a Mac on a StarkPhone then giving it the power of certain resources. They have to pay that somehow. While I'm tabulating things on my side, you might want to look at any recent mass death even—"

Jim stops and sets the pen down a moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose before taking it up once more and making several more furtive notes.

Pepper Potts blinks, glancing from Jericho to Jim and back. This is clearly more than she'd expected. "… right. Jim, we need to get as many people as possible together as quickly as possible. And if it's at a time that I can't be there, I want you there in my stead. Are you okay with that?" Constantine. Her office reeked of cigarettes for WEEKS after he'd been there. But, if he can help stop this, damnit, she will do what she has to to get him on their side.

Jericho actually blinks. "Pepper I didn't know you kept magical experts on staff. That's good though. Keep him close, if you can. You're probably going to need him. I'll see what I can do about Constantine but from what I can tell he's gone to ground. Illyana knows a few people so she'll get in touch with some of them. If you could reach out to Rune that'd be helpful. Her expertise on Ley lines will be invaluable in figuring out just what the hell is going on." Beat. "And as much as I kind of hate to suggest it, Tony's got a pretty quick mind…"5r

"I'll put the word out at the local bars and keep an eye on the closets for John. Can let Keith know to pass along to his team, and get the word out there. Hmmm. Yes. I should probably do that. And… Pepper? This is going to sound weird, but would it be possible to get the power routing maps for Metropolis, New York, and Gotham? That's probably going to take some time, but… I'm getting a really weird vibe and I'm hoping that it's just nerves and not something bigger?"

Jim isn't quite spooked, but he is sitting up straighter and he's a bit more intense as he looks at his notes. Then Jericho makes the comment about ley lines and Jim has to fight to maintain his composure for a moment, by sipping at his tea and pouring himself another cup with shaking hands…

Pepper Potts shakes her head immediately at involving Tony. "He's got enough on his plate right now. And remember, he's an engineer. Magic is practically anathema to him." When Jim asks about the power routing maps, she considers for a moment, then nods. "JARVIS isn't really up to doing a lot of heavy digging right now, and Cricket is taking up a lot of the slack for him on top of what she normally does for me." She seems to be considering something, and then looks at Jim again seriously. "I'll bet Corvinus could get that information if he were shown how to do the proper searches." Did Pepper just suggest that Buddha Bird start hacking the internet?

Just keep him away from, well, Jericho can probably hide from him for a bit. Still, the woman has a point. Corvinus probably has more than enough processing power to do it. "We'll call it good then. Anything else you two have for me?"

Jim glances over at Pepper thoughtfully, then shakes his head. Unbeknownst to him, his partner is already tabulating and tallying various search and access methods, as well as a multi-tier comprehensive approach to how to handle the 'power problem'.

Pepper Potts looks at Jericho for an evaluating moment. "Yes. Get some rest. You look like the fourth day of a three day weekend." If she knew that most of it was damaged caused by his circuit traces, she'd have been forcing electrolyte sources on him. But…

"I will, Pepper." What rest he can. Jericho is capapble of pushing hard when he has to, but since there's an off chance he'll get a decent night's sleep tonight, he'll take it. "You two take care. And watch out. I have no idea how big Hydra's hit list is. Maybe have Dana throw up some wards if she can. If she hasn't already." And with that and wave, he's off.

Jim drinks his tea quietly, watching the workers as they excitedly chatter about the bounty that was delivered to their store through mysterious means. He gives Pepper a look that's both levels of relieved and worried at the same time. He probably burnt through a good quarter of his notebook taking notes and writing based on the discussion with Jericho…

"Be safe out there and keep a low profile."

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