2013.08.22 - Banner Checks In

It is a warm afternoon in July here in Sleepy Hollow, New York. It is far enough away from the city so that it feels like being out in the country, but close enough for just a long car ride to get there. Much like Salem, MA, they do a healthy tourist trade based solely on Mr. Irving's story, and the local town and gift shops play it up a little bit. There are tourists moving about the street with gift bags, tacky t-shirts, and various things to eat such as ice cream cones and soda.

There is a small open market in the old town square which attracts the tourists, but also the locals that come into buy from the local farmers and craftsmen. It is a low key market filled with the scents of strawberries, honey, and fresh flowers. One stall is selling locally grown teas and a man in a rumpled shirt and blue jeans is stopping by there. A ball cap is pulled a little low keeping a lot of his face in shadows, and he rarely makes eye contact even as the salespeople attempt to converse and sell their wares.

Pepper Potts has been to this small open market before, though this is probably the first time she's actually honestly shopping. A woven basket hangs from the crook of one elbow with a few purchases already inside, her teal shoulder bag resides on the other shoulder, and she makes her way over toward the tea vendor, giving the strawberries and the entire stall they're in a wide berth. No offense, really. She's just that allergic.

The man in the rumpled clothes and ball cap looks up as Pepper approaches the tea. He studies here for a moment before slowly approaching to stand next to her. "Looks like rain," he says quietly as some sort of melodramatic passcode. Bruce has honestly taken paranoia to a new level as he has been out on the run from the authorities. He counts Pepper as an ally, but even then he will tend to keep her at arm's length. He pushes the cap slightly back from his head as he now lifts his head to look at Pepper.

Pepper Potts glances up at the fluffy white clouds overhead, and THEN places the voice. She grins at Bruce and shakes her head. "Okay, that's just silly. The weather couldn't be nicer." She's dressed casually in jeans, a patterned tank top with a gauzy blouse over it, and a simple though still high quality pair of flats. "So, which teas do you recommend? I tried Darjeeling the other week, and it was ... too much like green tea."

"Supposed to say 'that is why I always carry an umbrella'," Bruce mutters under his breath but there is a slight relaxation in his tone. He looks over the various teas and nods. "I tend to stick to the Chamomile myself. Can't say that Caffeine and the Other Guy work well together." He turns and glances around the market and town once. "Still not crazy about our meeting being so close to New York. This place may seem like the sticks, but they certainly will hear the news quickly enough."

"But I don't. I do always carry my tablet, though." Pepper looks at Bruce seemingly completely innocent even as she's gently poking fun at him. She glances at the teas as well, then reaches to pick up one small container. "Jasmine needles are caffeine free, and a nice change from chamomile. Kind of invigorating." As he looks around the market she can't help but smile again. "The only place that would be better than this is Salem, if you ask me. Little towns like this get so much tourist traffic there's no way they can remember every single face that passes through. Right?"

"Which is the main reason I agreed to this location," Banner says with a nod. "My bet is that most of the cashiers and salesfolk barely even look at the faces during the height of the tourist season." He looks at the jasmine tea and picks it up. He turns the small bag the farmer put it in over in his hands. "I don't know. I know the chamomile works well enough. Not sure I'm ready to just up and change like that. At least without some kind of experimentation first, of course."

Pepper Potts just chuckles faintly and shakes her head at Bruce. "It's just tea. I mean, did I steer you wrong with that decaf Earl Grey I got for you?" She looks over the choices, and oohs faintly as she picks up a jar labelled 'Assam' and works the lid open to smell the contents. "Oh, now this one is heavenly. And I read a neat trick online about how to minimize the caffeine content while brewing tea."

Bruce looks over at the tea she is holding. "Do they have it written down somewhere? Must have forgotten my smart phone in my other pants," he says with a soft chuckle. "Or maybe the ones before that. Hard to keep track." He still regards the other teas with a bit of skepticism. "And no, the Earl Grey was fine. Just it made me want to walk around with a British accent saying 'Make it so' every once in a while." He reaches into his pocket and fishes out a few bills which look as rumbled as he. He buys the chamomile from the vendor and slips the soft bag into his pocket.

Pepper Potts has to set the Assam down before she laughs and drops it. "I honestly can not picture that at all. And the trick was really simple, just steep the tea for thirty seconds, then dump out that water, pour in more, and steep the tea again as normal. Apparently the caffeine is the first thing the tea exudes." She pauses and considers. "I wonder if there's a way to test that definitively." She nods to the tea vendor and pays for a small tin of the Assam. "So, other than the weather being a source of constant concern, how have you been?"

"Keeping off the radar for the most part. Been mostly traveling up north during the summer." Bruce nods his head in the vague direction of north. "Upper Canada. Alaska. The bears tend to be better companions than a lot of people I have met." He puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs slightly. "Don't have much idea of what has been going on the world though which can be a good thing too." He raises an eyebrow as he looks at Pepper. "So what has been happening in the world?"

"All kinds of stuff. You seriously haven't been keeping up?" Pepper smiles her thanks to the tea vendor and gestures slightly for Bruce to follow her to a nearby park bench shaded by a tree. She settles onto the bench with her basket at her feet and reaches into her teal bag to pull out her tablet. Waking the device, she taps at the screen to unlock it, then says quietly, "JARVIS, would you be able to block anyone's attempts to trace this tablet's location?"

"Of course, Miss Potts. May I ask why?" emits from the tablet's speakers in the AI's cultured British tones.

"So that Bruce doesn't have to worry about it." Pepper glances at Bruce then back at the tablet, the device's onscreen wallpaper an image of Peppermint Patty talking on a phone.

"Ah. It is easily done, Miss Potts. Doctor Banner, a pleasure to make your acquaintance again." And there's actually zero sarcasm there.

Bruce does follow Pepper and settles down on the bench next to her. He also does tense up slightly as she begins to operate the tablet. He doesn't completely relax even as the talking device says that it able to block tracking. "JARVIS," he says a bit cautiously as it addresses him. "It has been a while."

"Indeed, Doctor Banner. Have you been well?" JARVIS is nothing if not polite.

Pepper offers the tablet to Bruce. Even if he decides not to keep it, he can use the device right now to get caught up on recent events. Without realizing, Pepper's arm brushes past the round 'Coach / Stark' medallion on her teal bag, and the medallion glows (faintly because it's daylight outside) with a yellowish tinge that's kind of reminiscent of the glow of Tony's arc reactor.

"I suppose as well as can be expected," Banner says in a conversational tone. He takes the tablet from Pepper and lets his fingers move over the screen. He looks at a few news stories and a scientific journals before handing the tablet back to Pepper. "Thank you." He raises an eyebrow as he catches the glow from the medallion. "Powered purses becoming standard issue when working for Stark?"

Pepper Potts takes the tablet back with a moment of confusion, then ohs! "Um, not really, no. This was a ... gift, from Tony." She decides to leave the explanation at that, because the LAST thing that needs to happen is for the Other Guy to descend on Gotham wanting to 'smash puny bat'. Knowing Natasha knows about what happened is more than enough.

Banner gives her a raised eyebrow expression, holding the gaze for a few moments, and then drops the subject as he looks forward again. "I'm surprised, Miss Potts. I was half expecting Stark to show up to one of our meetings trying to convince me to come back. I appreciate that you folks are allowing me to keep my space. I don't....trust the Other Guy that much as of yet. Not that I ever really did. Taking him back to New York City just wouldn't end well."

"Well, there's no way to guarantee that he still won't, but I think he's realized that you need this space and is trying his best to respect your wishes. Just ... drop him a line every now and again?" She smiles at Bruce. "He'll deny it to his dying breath, but he gets lonely more easily than most people realize."

"Doesn't look like it from the tabloid headlines I see in the market from time to time. What was the last one? A princess from one of those old European families or am I out of date and missed a couple?" Banner chuckles and shakes his head before standing. "Doubt I would provide a great deal of company any way. Constantly looking over my shoulder does play havoc on social skills."

Pepper Potts just smiles a bit at Bruce's comment about who Tony has been dating. She's not one to talk. "You'd be amazed, Bruce. Really." She's not going to pester him either. She knows better. "But in the meantime, help me pick out a few more vegetables. I want to make a salad for dinner."