Who: Mettle & Gert When: back dated - May 1 (Wednesday), PM. Where: Diner down the street. What: Pep talk over milkshakes and pie. Rating: G
Ken wasn’t against making new friends. It didn’t seem to matter from what time, or how old, or what side of the good/bad spectrum they were on, Ken was able to branch out and shake anyone’s hand if they were willing to look past his... different appearance. This Gert chick seemed pretty cool, she had an attitude and a knack for catchy references, and he dug that, so when she had mentioned to him that death was something common between them it was hard to not give her more attention than other new friends. He could relate, sadly. It was an obsession, a fear, a feeling, a weight that no matter how big you smiled always dragged you back down. Jenny could never understand, nor could his friends, and he was okay with keeping those blues away from their already crazy lives.
He didn’t really need sleep, and, it was still unsure if he needed food, but hey, he wasn’t going to turn down pie even if he couldn’t taste it. The memory was still in his mind somewhere about the taste, and he’d try to work with that and enjoy the late night company. The texts were welcomed and returned quickly, and all he needed to do was slip into some sandals and a hoodie and he was ready to go. Grabbing the key for the apartment, he tucked that and his wallet into the back pocket of his white cargo shorts and took off down the hall. He’d been to that diner place a few times already. The late night staff seemed pretty chill with him, and he always left a good tip, so they didn’t mind serving someone that looked like he did. He often wondered if they were mutants or something, or had a family member that was a mutant, but, he never asked, just kept things polite. Gert at least had good taste in grub hubs.
It took a few minutes but the walk was no sweat and soon he’d find himself taking his usual seat at a table. The booths were too small for his body and the staff had been kind enough to give him what they considered “their most sturdiest chair.” It looked like every other chair, but maybe a little newer, still, it was a really kind gesture that kept him coming back. He held idle conversation with the middle-aged waitress; gal had three kids, a deadbeat husband, and a sick mother-in-law whom she took care of as well. He declined coffee for now, letting the woman know he had a friend meeting him soon. Once Gert did arrive, Mettle had no hesitation in standing up and giving the short girl a big hug, “Hey girl, how’s it going?”
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It took Gert a few moments more to get out of Chase’s apartment than she would have liked, without her link to OL it was hard to explain to her that she was going to be back soon. To wait for Chase, go sleep, it’s okay. But the dino had watched Gert’s mood shift from something like pleasantly debating to melancholy pretty quickly. They weren’t linked, it was true, but OL had been created with Gert’s family’s DNA--there was still a connection that couldn’t be broken. Eventually Gert was able to leave though, taping a note to the bathroom door (the only place she was sure Chase would eventually go to) that let him know she would be back later, probably with food.
Besides playing around on the network all day, Gert had actually been able to clean Chase’s apartment, she was doing pretty much anything in her power to not figure out where she lived--plus it meant time with OL. The walk wasn’t far and the cool air really did help her get her thoughts together, she didn’t like the cold, but her idea of cold and hot was different from most people. As long as snow wasn’t piled up or ice falling down she was good. Halfway to the diner Gert paused, stepping off to the side so as not to force someone to ram into her. What was she going to say to Mettle? They really didn’t know each other, sure it was thanks to him that she was able to dye her hair (not exactly the right color, but it was a start) and he was the only person she knew who was like her. Dead.
Still, it seemed mean to just want to talk about death. Right? Friendships were so complicated, and she’d done so well most of her life with not making any, now suddenly she had more than enough people either getting to know her or who already seemed to know of her. With a heavy sigh she finally pushed from her spot and made her way to the diner, pausing again just as she entered, green eyes landing on the only giant-red guy in the room, and she smiled a smile that somehow reached her eyes. She wasn’t alone...G-d...that put so much weight on Mettle and they still didn’t really even know each other. She crossed the distance between them and went limp in his grip--expecting a handshake more than a hug, but somehow she laughed and allowed it to happen. A shaky laugh was offered as she pulled from him and slid from the jacket she’d stolen from Chase (like the rest of her clothing, which was baggy and tight in all the wrong places), “It goes...I guess.” A shrug offered as she moved to sit next to Mettle instead of across from him. “How long did you say you’ve been here...New York, not the diner,” she corrected herself quickly with another mild, nervous, laugh.
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Mettle was used to carrying heavy things. He was one of the happiest people in the world, as far as the world was concerned, and yet, he carried everything. Everyone’s bad moods, everyone’s fears, everyone’s hurt and anger, especially Jenny’s anger. God she was so angry all the time. But he never complained, there were worse responsibilities in the world than being a stalwart for your friends. And new friends. “Yeah, uh, I don’t really know. Maybe like.. two months? Not really keeping track of time, that’d make this place seem more like a prison than home,” he offered with a light chuckle. Leaning back in his chair, he waved over to the nice waitress to gain her attention for a second. “You want coffee? Or a shake? Their shakes are pretty good here. They actually put strawberries in the strawberry shake.” It’s what he was getting, mostly because strawberry was such a memorable flavor that it almost felt like his mouth watered at the thought of it.
“This place is a little weird, kind of confusing, but, my friends and I’ve seen other weird stuff. Like future selves, other dimensions... It’s not all that crazy here. You settling in okay?” It was easy to talk to Gert like he’d known her for years, maybe it was because he’d had a run in with the Runaways and they’d been fortunate enough to share some pretty intimate memories before things blew up and they became enemies. He knew Gert’s story, but, he treated her like she was some new person he’d never seen, to him, it gave her the chance to tell her side of things. “So where’re you from? What’d you do before all this?”
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Old habits died hard, even though she seemed comfortable Gert was already counting heads and checking for a second exit from the diner. She didn’t expect anyone to come in and try to blow it up or anything, knew that Lightspeed wouldn’t be on her ass again, but she couldn’t shake the knowledge of her past so quickly either. With Chase it had been like living in a cocoon in their nest that OL had made in the bed for the three of them, time stopped and she was allowed to pretend for short periods of time that they were still in the hideout waiting for the next reason to move. The next bad guy trying to claim their ‘rents land.
Mettle’s voice called her back to reality and she gave a half smirk that was meant to be a smile and failed. “Uh, yeah, I’m buying though. Remember.” Green eyes slid towards the waitress as she made her appearance, “Strawberry milkshake sounds good actually, I’ll have that.” She ordered with a slight smile before handing over her menu. “Yeah, no, I’m actually okay with all this.” Gertrude focussed back on Mettle once orders were taken and the waitress gone. “I actually got to watch myself die in Chase’s arms,” she shrugged as if it was a perfectly reasonable sentence. Then as if if remembering that Mettle wasn’t part of her group she picked up her fork and tapped it lightly against the napkin it had unrolled from, “My ‘rents, they were travelers. Time, I mean, and it looks like future-me had their machine, which was jacked up in our time. Anyway, she came back to warn us about something and promptly died in Chase’s arms. Fun times really, besides, OL is from a different time and genetically altered. New dimensions? Sure, why not, right? No crazier than believing in a heaven or hell.”
She let the fork drop and shrugged a little, “Depends on the day I guess. We ran a lot for the most part, tried to clean up the mess we made when our ‘rents turf became a battle ground for the next big-bad. Sort of our responsibility. Sort of the reason I died too, I guess. As for where I’m from? I guess where you’re from. I think we’re all just time displaced more than anything, I’ve seen people on the network talking about movie versions of themselves and things...but from what I can tell from the jabber, the Academy kids and the Runaways are just from different times of the same place.” She shrugged a little, trying to stay factual helped keep emotion out of this--it was working well so far anyway. “What about you? What did you do before this?”
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He listened to what she had to say. While they had shared some memories with the Runaways, it certainly wasn’t all, and he hadn’t known about her time-traveling from the future to do something in the past. While Mettle could understand a lot of deep things, the whole timespace dimension jumping thing was just too over his head to really grasp at. All he knew is that there were tons of possibilities and that not every thing they did meant something in the future was set in stone; his own future self taught him that when Korvac decided to drag his domestic dispute through the Academy. “Yeah, I met Old Lace, she’s pretty cool. My buddy Berto can turn into dinosaurs, we joke that they’re cousins of some sort. Or, if she’s looking for a mate, Berto’s a pretty good t-rex.”
Mettle shrugged a little as she went more in depth about her theory from where and when they all came from. It was easier to just accept that his friends were here and safe from any horrors that were in Jenny’s time, which was just a little more beyond his own. The thought scared him, saddened him, made him cry at night to think about what it would be like when his friends went back home and had to find whatever bits and pieces of him remained to put in some casket out to sea... Hell, he wanted to tell Jenny what to do with his body but he didn’t have the heart to do so just yet, he didn’t have the strength to face that.
“I surfed. A lot. That’s pretty much all I did until my accident. Then it was all about the Avenger’s Academy, doing good things with other kids just as messed up as me. Like you guys, you Runaways, the Academy kids are my family now. They’re stupid sometimes, but, who isn’t, you know? I don’t really talk about what happened to them, just Jenny, mainly because she saw it, but they don’t need to be bothered by that kind of stuff. Which I’m okay with. I don’t know if you feel that way, but, for me, it’s been cool to talk to others in the same position. There’s this girl, Jo, she’s from tv show that hunts demons and stuff like that, she’s dead too. We just.. We kind of understand things a little differently than our friends around us. You feelin’ me?”
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Gert nodded about Berto, the kid had said as much to her, a smirk offered at the idea of him and OL ‘mating.’ It was a horrible thought that earned Mettle a look of mixed horror and laughter, “Remind me to watch him around my baby then,” she joked along. Hands moved to fold aginst her lap as she tried to look at Mettle, but not talking about the large elephant was starting to make her feel itchy. “Surfing, I figured as much at the ‘betty’ comment you left.” She slowly blinked and gave just a little laugh, “So you’re a California boy then? That’s where we’re from too actually. LA to be specific. I never really got into the beach scene though, as I’m sure you can tell.” Nothing like a pudgy girl waddling along the beach to be ridiculed by the surfers.
“Actually, I don’t follow at all.” There was a sad smile finally as she looked at Mettle point blank. “I guess it’s easy to take that road though when you’re the one with the information. I guess for me it’s more...I’m getting bombarded with information that I shouldn’t know. It’s not just that, I look at my friends and...they’ve moved on.” There was a slight twitch to the corners of her lips that threatened tears as her eyes became a little more glossy. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not feeling bad for myself, they should have moved on, but, I should have too. To whatever that move is...even if it’s nothing. Nonexistence is better than irrelevant and knowing it. Well, irrelevant, knowing it, and fearful that within the next second I can be sucked back through that wormhole into nothingness...so what am I supposed to do here and now? Get a job?” A laugh came then, short and bitter. “Makes sense.”
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Throwing Humberto under the bus for the sake of humor was a necessity, they did it to each other often and it kept them as close friends. The people Ken once thought were his friends, well, they never looked at him the same way again. When Berto looked at him? It was like nothing was wrong at all, and he appreciated that more than he ever let on. “I don’t always call ladies a Betty, it was a compliment girl,” he offered, well, with an internal smile as he gave her a little nod up to show he was sincere about his choice of words. The girl was cute, curvy, had a kickin’ sense of style... She was definitely all right in his book. “Cali? Nah, I’m from Hawaii. LA wishes they had waves like the Islands. You’re a little pasty, but nothing a kiss from the sun couldn’t handle. I’m trying to get a beach party together this year in the summer when the weather’s a little warmer, you should totally come!” It had been talked about with his friends, so he was hoping they’d do it on the first really warm day.
When Gertrude admitted not catching his drift, he shifted in his seat a bit, remembering having felt the exact same way when he first got here. “Pretty much. You might have an easier time finding a job. Being a junior-level Avenger and lookin’ like me don’t really give you cred to qualify anywhere. But I get it, I get what you’re saying and it sucks. Some people already moved on, some people can’t, some people don’t even know it happened and it’s like.. where does that leave you? I can’t tell you that this kinda thinking gets better, it’s on my mind all the time. But you can’t let it drag you down, you know? You gotta look at this like it’s a second chance, even if you die tomorrow, again, you still got to do something today. My friend was here for a little while, she made a bucket list of things to do. I ended up doing the same. It sucks that we’re so young and have to have one of those, but, really, it kinda gives you something to look forward to. For me? I just want to see my ocean again. I can barely remember what she feels like, let alone smells like anymore...” And as he realized he was doing that whole longing thing, he shook his head.
“But you’re already doing the right thing. You can’t feel sorry for yourself or else you might as well be better off dead again. Go to school, write a book, learn a new language, make new friends. Try something new every day. It’s no different than if we were back at home. You can die from anything at any time, so it’s just like here. We’re already dead, might as well throw a party every day until the ol’ Reaper comes to collect what’s his.”
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There was so much in Gert that wanted to explode at Mettle for being logical and collected about this, but he’d had more time to get into the groove of this new life and this new thought process...but he still made absolute sense to her, and that hurt too. She blinked and slouched a little in her seat, leaning forward and clasping her hands against her lap as she focussed on what he was saying while staring down at her knees at the same time. There was only a glance upward of recognition and a muted ‘thank you’ as the waitress interrupted them momentarily to give them their shakes. Throw a party everyday...do something new. Why not? Why wasn’t she out there just doing...something? She’d wanted to talk to Steve Rogers about the whole Avenger thing...why hadn’t she? She was the only thing holding herself back, always had been, but she didn’t have the option to remain hidden and scared of growing up anymore...not when the only thing she could think about doing was exactly that.
There. She had a goal: Grow up, Gertrude. When she looked up she smiled brightly, which was odd for Gertrude, but Mettle made her feel a little more at ease--and even if he thought no one noticed the way he stopped himself from showing ‘negative’ emotion, she’d heard it, seen the way he’d physically stopped the thought process in it’s track. Clearing her throat she moved to sit up properly and reach out for the long spoon shoved in her strawberry shake, twisting it slowly between her fingers for a second, “You know, first off, it takes skill to get this pasty, thank you.” She smirked and pulled the spoon out to lick off the back of the spoon before pointing it at him, “And you’re absolutely right about everything else. I know you’re already sort of doing me a solid here, because I mean, you didn’t have to come and be my therapist tonight, but do you think you could maybe...” She shrugged a little while licking off the rest of thick shake mixture from her spoon, “I kind of want to meet Captain Rogers...is that something you could help with, I mean since you’re doing the Avenger thing and you’re part of the Academy. Is that how that works?”
She shifted a little until she could curl her left leg under her right, her ankle catching under her right knee, “I mean I’m not fit, obviously, but...hey, do something new right? Why not start with the health thing, after I drink this shake.” With that she pulled the tall drink closer so she could use the straw finally and place the spoon down. Who the hell drank shakes with a spoon? Evil NY people, that’s who, apparently.
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Both hands were raised into the air as she pointed at him accusingly, “hey now, you only get that white if you’re allergic to the sun, girl,” he offered with a little friendly laugh. She was funny, had some zip about her. Why they all hadn’t clicked well in the first place with the Runaways... well, he knew why now, but he was glad to finally get to start knowing them a little better. Chase had the best sense of humor. He started to pick at his shake, unable to feel its cold, but he could remember the smell of strawberry just by looking at it, he could see the little chunks of fruit that were there that he knows would make it taste absolutely amazing. “You keep telling me I’m right and it’ll go to my head,” but maybe it should. He seemed to be able to have good conversation with Jo, and now Gert, maybe he could consider going to college and doing some therapist work or something like that. He didn’t make it through the SHIELD psychological exams, but, he was pretty sure he wasn’t meant to work for SHIELD anyways, that was kind of Berto’s gig.
“I think Berto’s got a better connection to the Avengers and to SHIELD, so I’ll talk to him about it? Don’t consider it a favor, this is just... networking. Use your resources that are here, most of us have nothing but each other. I’m considered an Avenger, but I think they still think we’ve got training wheels on or something. Haven’t done a thing with them but train on Sundays. Which, you should totally join us. A lot of your friends are there too. We work out, run scenarios, and then go out to eat or cook and just chill the rest of the day, it’s a lot of fun. We’ll all help you out, but, don’t do it because of some self image thing girl’s have. You’re a good lookin’ gal, just add a little muscle to behind a punch and you’ll be solid.” He took a few more bites from the shake... it definitely was weird eating it with a spoon, but, he’d gotten used to it at this diner. “So why do you want to meet Captain America? I mean, he’s a pretty cool dude, kind of strict, but still cool.”
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There were nods given to show she was listening as he filled her in on some things. Nico, or maybe it was Chase, someone had told her that most of the team was now working alongside the Avengers for some training thing. She knew she was going to have do that stepping stone eventually too, even if she did want to just fast forward to, “Thanks, and just take the compliment. You deserve it, I don’t hand them out very freely to be honest.” she finally let out after swallowing some of her shake and sitting back; she was going to get a damn brain freeze if she drank the shake any faster. She wasn’t trying to ignore specific things he said, but some things she had to glaze over (such as the whole Betty comment) for one reason or another. This time she felt she had to be rather honest, besides, she’d already told him about the death of her future self.
With a sigh she shrugged, “No I’m not thinking of doing it for any self conscious reasons, I’d like to be fit, not a rail. You know? I like how I look, obviously, I kind of rock in the best of ways...but, like I said, I got to watch my future self die and well.” There was that shrug again, “I obviously started taking care of myself at some point is all I’m going to say. And well...” She tilted her head and looked out the window as if she couldn’t believe what she was going to say next, “Apparently in some reality somewhere I become the leader of the Avengers, and I figured who would be the best person to talk to? Rogers seems like the man, I guess. I mean I’ve met him before, he tried to keep the group parted and in foster care...he was a dick, but that’s obviously all behind us now and well...” She looked over to Mettle again and smirked as she pointed to herself with both index fingers, “You’re looking at the future leader of the Avengers and all.” It was spoken with plenty of sarcasm, she obviously still didn’t fully believe what her station in life was meant to be.
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There was a little chuckle to be had as he ate a little more of his shake. Can’t blame the kid for being humble, compliments weren’t something that got passed down his way often. He listened to her speak, glad that she was pretty confident about herself. Heck, he even tilted to the side so he could get a better look of her as she said “all the right ways,” nodding in agreement. The purple hair, the chic glasses, and those “ways” definitely helped give her this amazing personality. Already he could tell they’d be friends. His attention was brought back to their direct conversation when she mentioned “Avengers.” “No way, I could be workin’ for you in some other reality. That’s boss. Rogers is definitely the guy you want to speak to, him or Pulsar, or even Scarlet Witch, they all had some hand in leading the team.” Unfortunately, her sarcasm was ignored, mostly because Mettle has seen a future version of himself, hell he used that body for a brief period of time, so what was there to doubt in her words?
“Definitely come join us on Sundays then, lots of kids are there, along with some SHIELD guys. They’ll get you in shape in no time. Plus, Berto’s a really good motivator, you gotta look out for him. He’s our leader and will totally be an Avengers leader in the future too, the kid loves that stuff, it’s kind of his thing. You should talk to him maybe, compare notes and all that jazz.” Berto was their leader for the simple fact he’d said he wanted the job and no one thought that Hollywood could pull off the spot. It turned out that their faith in Berto proved right, though, and ever since, Mettle has always trusted his friend’s opinion on anything. “I’d like to tell you you got time to think about all this stuff, but, no use in buttering the bread. There are departures here all the. The tesseract takes and tosses whoever it wants. I had friends here one day that were
gone the next. So whatever you plan on doin’, don’t hold back girl. And if you need help, you got me and my friends.”
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Gert took in everything Mettle had to say, while he spoke she made mental notes and reminded herself over and over to talk to Lopez about all this. She understood fanboys, Vic was the fanboy of all fanboys when it came to this hero stuff--maybe she’d talk to him too. She was sure he’d be able to tell her who would fit her lack of capabilities the best. Captain was her first choice simply because she knew him, well, of him, the best. That and the idea of being trained, even if not personally, by a person Molly called stinky made Gert feel like all this wasn’t as serious as it really was. Or at least as serious as it really was in her head.
The way Mettle looked at her was noted as well and ignored. She knew he had a girl and he knew she had a guy, cheating was not her thing, and there was something about Mettle that made Gert think he was just being nice and not actually checking her out. Then again, why would anyone take the time to actually check her out unless it was for some critical purpose later. Still, she couldn’t lie to herself that it was nice on some level to have someone look at her besides Chase--the blush was hidden by her hands cupping her cheeks as she leaned into the table and sucked down more of her shake until the devilish brain freeze started. Thus ended the serious talk, it was hard to go back to something so dire when Gert’s eyes squinted closed and she moaned in exaggerated pain before laughing at herself. Besides, she had what she needed.
Another hour, a plate of shared nachos, strawberry shakes gone and Mettle and Gert were leaning over the table talking eagerly about things they wanted to do before they died...but to hear them it was like planning roadmarks for a vacation that was going to last years that could be taken at a leisurely pace. When things started to finally come to an end it was Gert who slapped Mettle’s hand away as he reached for the check, it was the first time she actually felt him, but she didn’t skip a beat and treated him like any other friend. “I said it was on me, stop.” She warned as she jerked the check away with a smirk while pushing his hand away with her free hand, fingers wrapping around his wrist slightly as she held him off.
Once the check was paid the two new friends started on their way home, both holding their own box of whole pie for their significant others for later.Their parting was filled with promises to do this again, laughter, and a quick wave as the elevator doors closed to take Gert up to her floor.