2014.03.02 - Seeds at Sea

A public garden. A large public garden. A large, public, rooftop garden. A large, public, Japanese-themed rooftop garden... in Bludhaven. This was not something one would expect: but yet, there it was, just atop of a historic but semi-abandoned theater near the edge of the neighborhood. Two torches crackled slightly in the wind, and the lush, green, colorful bushes shook in the light breeze. It was calm, save for a few mumbled, melodic chanted phrases. Sitting on a stone bench in lotus position was Mantis. This was one of her favorite spots in the metropolitan regions of Metropolis and Gotham; it was something about the oasis, the calm hidden in the chaos, that compelled her, set her wandersome mind upon a boat ride. She imagined being on a boat... a pirate ship, sitting there, eyes closed, chanting.

Mantis sensed movement and popped her eyes open. She saw Phyla-Vell, though she did yet know her name. The women had seen each other at this spot several times, and had given each other quiet, friendly nods, always staying curiously silent.

It's hard not to notice Phyla when she's flying around, really. Especially in Bludhaven. That bright, golden glow from her bands leaves a trail behind her as she flies. It tends to attract attention in the darker, drearier places. The garden was what attracted her attention because really, how many places like this are in Bludhaven? Zero. She alights easily, and her face registers surprise when she realizes exactly to whom the garden belongs. "...Hello, Mantis."

Mantis flashes a warm smile, looking up, watching Phyla's descent. She continued her melodic words for another six or seven seconds, but it sounded like she was ending it. She reached her arm out, and tapped her finger on a group of blackberries just within arms reach, plucking out a single berry.

"Have you haunted the stars again?" she asked...almost smirking. She ate the berry.

Why is it every time she's briefly spoken with Mantis, she's had the feeling the green woman knew the answers ahead of time? "For a little while," Phyla answers. She pushes her cloak back, examining whatever plant happens to be nearest to her. Earth flora. Something she knows absolutely nothing about. "I decided to come here. My father was fond of this place. Besides... I was a little tired of the conflicts out there." The way she holds back after 'besides' might lead to expect there's something more there.

Mantis, in a surprisingly unguarded moment, slipped off the stone bench and two a step closer, taking a moment to catch Phyla's gaze, before quickly looking away. "It's the blossoms of Summer, and the meditation of Winter, that makes this realm such a pulse. A nexus of spontaneity, sometimes." She turns, slightly and half-squats over a short but stocky bush; numerous peach-colored squashes dangle from it, and Mantis runs her dark fingernail over its surface. "You've a pureness unfamiliar. A focus unfulfilled. A reserved driver."

Phyla-Vell has only a moment to look at the green-skinned woman's eyes, curious. "I don't think that was it," she says, in reference to the pulse of the world. Which she assumes is an explanation for why Mar-Vell was here. Why she liked it. She strides forward to examine this or that. Fruits. "These are edible?" The question should be longer, but Phyla cuts herself off when Mantis speaks again. "A reserved driver? What are you getting at?"

"Are not our movements towards goals often measured?" Mantis quips back sweetly. She reaches past the bush, her head dipping into the plant's leaves, it brushing against her face. She seems unconcerned, and reaches past it, to makeshift, small wooden structure full of large green beans. She plucks off an especially large snow pea pod from the vine and slowly rises, offering it to Phyla. "Edible, yes. This one helps with with the glooms," she states matter-of-factually. "You seek peace. Don't we all. Purpose and peace."

Phyla-Vell crosses her arms. Defensive. It also brings the Quantum Bands within line of sight so she can peer at them briefly. "That's why I came here. Quiet. I thought it would be quiet." Good luck on that. She knows she can't hide here forever, but with the way things are going, Earth might have more need of Quasar for the moment than the universe at large.

The folded arms are met with Mantis' momentary gaze at her. "They're like water waves," she says softly, raising her hand. Her motion seems to be orchestrating some kind of movement, "the paths, the choices. Drops of water into the wash. Pushed, merged. Yet always removable. The identity mix." Mantis realizes, for once, that she's probably not being even remotely clear, and blushes slightly, almost shaking her head. "What would you do, if you could do anything?" she asks inquisitively.

Not in the least. But like her father and brother, Phyla prefers straight talk to metaphor. She does not answer immediately, instead studying the plants a little more. "What I keep trying to tell myself is that I'd like to find someone to settle down with," she answers. "Some pretty girl." She laughs and shakes her head. "But I'd be bored inside a week."

"Hearts are like the weather," Mantis remarks, pulling back the snow pea pod and nibbling it a few pecks. "Somehow both fickle and flippant. A moon's tide makes our legs more important, lest we're towed under." But Mantis arches a brow, then, and takes a slightly more serious tone. "My peace will only be met when in the service of others; we've a gift that can't be ignored."

"That's what you want to do or feel you need to do?" Oddly enough, Phyla finds that sentence did indeed make sense. "Do you know Adam Warlock? Did you know he's on the planet now? He met up with me in orbit last week." An abrupt change in topic, but no doubt Mantis will force it back. Clearly there was discomfort in Phyla's mind and voice in contemplating how to bring peace to herself.

Mantis looks back to Phyla, and a whisking image hovers in her mind. It was the face of Adam Warlock: a man she'd never met. The mere mention of the name opened up the vision. He seemed important.

"N-no," Mantis said cautiously, but then shifted to an interested, almost excited tone. "An ally of yours? What sort of spells might your warlock cast?"

Phyla-Vell shakes her head. "I don't think I could explain. I'd have to have him do it." To Phyla it just looks like manipulating energy, especially since she has come to possess the Quantum Bands. The tone in Mantis' voice piques Phyla's own interest, and she wonders how much of what he's said the green woman could verify. "He says this planet works as an axis on which the whole universe turns. That people like he and I have been drawn here because the planet will face threats from out there.." here she gestures skyward, "and someone will need to deal with them."

"It's already started, I fear," Mantis says, a subtle tone of weariness in her voice. "Dark spots, wicked tendrils crawling through cracks. Is he able to do be our medicine, or is he merely prompting the antibodies?" she asks curiously. "Some threats must be repelled. I've no fear of conflict--peace is balance, not silence... but bacteria aim to slay the host."

"There was a Brood ship coming this way last week. I dealt with it, but I had help. A woman calling herself Star Sapphire, and another - who knew my father - calling herself Captain Marvel." She looks skyward, nodding without looking down. "You mean the man sending out telepathic threats constantly." She grimaces. "Reminds me of Annihilus."

While Mantis doesn't know exactly The Brood nor Annihilus by name, she has sudden, random visual flashes as Phyla speaks. Images of ships; creepy alien body parts, and strange metals. Something about Phyla was activating her precognition as a rapid pace, and Mantis decided to take this as a sign--she'd grown to regard her precognition almost spiritually, and its acceleration only suggested significance for her. "You've not known my life, but I must seed defense," she spoke with a hint of sudden urgency. "It is what I can do, when sticking out like a sore, green thumb in the battlefields such difference. If I can be of aide, allow me. This area is positioned to be an early target," she continued.

Phyla-Vell actually seems relieved at the offer. She had not been planning on it, but as always, there is strength in numbers, and Mantis has unusual talents they would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. "This might seem like a stupid question, but is there a way for me to contact you?" She knows the bands function as quite handy communicators, but they do need something to latch onto, first. "I'm not sure yet what Adam's planning, but I can tell you when I know."

Mantis smirks, momentarily self-aware of her weird demeanor; the reserved, flora-focused nature would suggest she anachronistic. She was almost right: she pulled out a very non-American looking cellphone that looked at least six years old; certainly not an iPhone. She pressed a few buttons and flipped the phone around to reveal a display with her telephone number. She smiled at this. "I spend every forth afternoon here, whenever I've the chance. Working with you shall be an honor--your vitality, your volcano wrists, can...will...redirect this asteroid," Mantis spoke both warmly and cryptically, as she often was one to do. But then she spoke again, pointing to the quantum bands, "No more honorable a sole will ever wear those again. You are to become the bench mark." This pronouncement sounded more ominous than complimentary, somehow.

Phyla-Vell stares, from her bracers to Mantis. She's not sure how to take it. Precognition? Wishful thinking? She's still hesitant to use the name Quasar, and has been been using her real name since she received them. She forces herself to look at the phone number; one of the gems on her bands glow softly. "Your words are very kind. I only hope I can live up to them." She seems to accept that they're a hope rather than precog.

With a slinky movement backwards, Mantis steps back and perches herself suddenly on the stone bench again. "No," she says, her legs moving back into its former lotus position, her hands rising into some sort of meditative pose. "Thank you. For giving me a north star in the dark. My ship knows which direction to go." She smiles at this, while internally reminding herself of her pirate ship visualization minutes ago. Then, suddenly, Mantis seems to trance out, and moves back into a melodic chanting refrain.

Phyla-Vell still isn't sure what she did, but she leaves glad knowing somehow, she helped. She takes the 'trancing out' as her time to leave. She nods her goodbyes and turns. The bands reactive and a golden aura surrounds her; then Phyla easily lifts off the ground and back into the air. For several minutes afterwards she's a glimmer of gold in the sky until she abruptly turns and heads upwards.