| Cookies And Safehouses | |||||
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| What: Kate finally shows Roy her 'safehouse' and they talk about recent events. | |||||
Somewhere in the city of New York...
There is a building. A warehouse that doesn't really look like a modern warehouse. A three story tall affair. One that looks like it's possibly abandoned, but functional and not condemned. A place that has the words 'Bishop Publishing' on the side in big letters.
A place, where a call came from. A call to an archer, that gives the address for this place.
A place where another archer is inside. Waiting.
"... really, Hawkeye, BISHOP Publishing?" Arsenal comments as he notes the other archer upon entering. Jerking a thumb outside, the ginger archer grins. "It's a nice place, if rather empty... planning any renovations? Hell of a place, though. Three stories? Worried about squatters?"
As Roy prattles, he fishes into his jacket, pulls out a box of... something, and tosses it towards the other archer. "Lian made these for you."
Should she open it, well, they -were- chocolate chip cookies. A bunch of neat ones and some sloppily made ones, as well.
"Actually, I was considering offering this to The Young Allies as a base." Hawkeye says as she slowly turns to face Roy. And yes she is sitting. In a /VERY/ expensive looking office chair in the middle of the giant chamber that is the otherwise empty ground floor.
"As for the name, it was already there. The whole building is owned by my fathers company. It just... Has fallen through the cracks. Thus I've taken it over. As for squatters... That's not a concern."
The package is caught, and opened, before Kate grins and closes it back up. That is before she stands up.
"I'll save those for later."
Oh sure. A plush office chair, and absolutely nothing anywhere else to sit on. Roy frowns just a bit as he assesses the situation, before a glint crosses his eyes. "Nice, but how're you going to get all this without your father noticing?" Roy asks, as he approaches. You'd better be -rolling- in that chair, fast and far, Kate.
Rolling? Not exactly. Instead Kate spins the chair before gently pushing it towards Roy.
"Considering my father doesn't blink when my sister spends a quarter milling dollars on a hand bag, I'm pretty sure he won't notice what I'm doing here. Besides, he still has no clue how much money I've spent on stuff for Hawkeye. he's just too busy trying to make more money and expand his empire."
Damn, foiled by a watchful Kate. "Fine," Roy comments as he catches the chair. Swinging it around, he takes a seat. "So what's the catch? You want me to debug this place or something?" Glancing about, steepling his fingers, Roy shrugs. "I don't really see an issue here, but then again, I'm guessing you're in a better situation than the Titans over there."
There's a shrug and a wrinkle of his nose. "What makes you want to form a whole new team like this instead of, I don't know, joining one? The whole secret identity thing? Because there's a system in place... not that it'll stop some bureaucrat from being a jackass, but at least then you can shove an arrow where the sun doesn't shine..."
There's something between a frown, and a wince at the mention of The Titans, before Hawkeye glances away, and motions towards the staircase at the far end of the room. In fact, as she starts to walk towards it, it's almost as if she's trying to keep her back to Roy.
"The identity thing is part of it. A large part. But there's more to it than that."
"I could say things like how no matter what, The Titans can't take everyone. And how there are a lot of heroes who are out there, alone and could use the help a team offers. Or things like that. But in this case, it's more like something that just happened. Same place, same time, ended up working together. media caught us working together, and decided to call us a team."
"Yeah, I know," Roy grins. "Heard it from Mia. Although -she- doesn't seem to mind." Glancing around, Roy scratches his chin. "But a place like this for the team? Wouldn't that just... kind of make it so -everyone- looks at you as the, you know... benefactor?"
"Which is part of why it's not being used by them. Instead they have something a bit... Different." is said as Kate heads up the stairs, without actually turning her head to see if Roy is following her or not.
"Besides... It's not exactly like The Titans have been doing much, if anything, for a while now. In fact what little that has been heard about them in our circles hasn't exactly been good for as long as I've been active. Axiom alone has commented on them. As has Wiccan. The only hero I met who had anything good to say about them was Bunker, and that was just barely."
Rubbing his chin, Roy blinks as Kate heads up the stair, forcing him to scramble and get out of the chair. DAMN the woman, would she never cease to keep him offbalance?
As he clambers up the stairs after Kate, Roy calls back out, "I don't think it's that bad, but then again, I'm just sort of shaking my head that the old man and the kids're all paranoid about the government being out to get them. Really?"
And as she reaches the top of the stairs, Hawkeye does pause, before glancing back at Roy.
"Really. And can you blame them? After the whole recent registration mess they have even less of a reason to trust the government. But even if that wasn't the case, look at it from a different perspective. Where exactly can most Teens with powers go? The only real option before now was The Titans, and only The Titans. Now, for better or for worse, there is another option."
As that's being said though, the door at the top is unlocked.
"Am I sure The Young Allies are the right thing? No. But I'm not sure The Titans are either."
"I'll give you that," Roy allows as he follows, stopping as Hawkeye stops. "It's just a hell of a task you've set yourself up for. Because sooner or later, all kind of teams're gonna butt heads about who's gonna be the leader, so you're gonna have to get that straightened out right away. Who's the boss?"
And of course as the door opens, well.... A sound can be heard. Something that sounds like the hum of a computer cooling fan. But maybe slightly louder.
"Not you too Roy." is muttered as Kate enter the room on the top of the stairs. Or hallway to be more exact. Because there are several rooms attached to this one, narrower room. The doors are all open to the rooms though, and from the one closest to the stair case, a rather large, expensive, apparently custom built PC with a giant monitor can be seen.
"That's... That's a loaded question."
"Of course it is," Roy responds as he steps through the door, glancing at everything as he follows Kate. "It's usually the kind of question that's asked whenever a team forms. Because someone has to make the -final- decision. If you're going to have a million voices all squawking, there's got to be -one- last voice that settles all that. Doesn't matter whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, it's got to be one last voice. And once that's settled, don't let some backseat driver change that."
And here's where Kate slowly moves over, and slumps against a wall.
"Look, Roy... Months ago, back before The Young Allies were even a twinkle in anyones eye, I met Axiom. At the time he was trying to form a team. He tried to pull me into it. he was worried about others on his potential team already working against him to scuttle it. I flat out told him /not/ to let anyone take it from him. If he was putting that much work and effort into it, then he should take charge. The base we're using right now for example is one he tried to set up for that other team I believe, since it never got off the ground."
"Now we've got people looking at him half the time. And me the other half. And him looking at me to take charge some of the time, and..."
She rubs her temples.
"If this came down to a vote within the team, I may very well end up in charge. but then I'd be taking this from him even when i told him not to let anyone do that to him."
"So.. give it to him," Roy says as he leans against the wall next to Kate. "You know that story about the arrows and unity, right? I tell Lian about it sometimes. It's kinda nifty."
"If he's looking at me to lead, and the others are looking at me, then I'm not sure it'd work." Kate admits.
"On top of that, most of the time he doesn't really act like a leader. More like a super hero fanboy who has powers."
"Well then..." Roy shrugs. "I guess if everyone else're looking at you, the main question would be... are -you- ready to lead?"
Placing his hand on top of Kate's hair to try and ruffle it, the SHIELD agent continues. "I mean, like, in small groups, you don't really need a top-down system, but the bigger it gets... well, you kinda need a head to get all the limbs moving at the same time."
And almost as soon as that hand touches her hair, Kate tries to swat it away.
"If need be, I can. Do I want to be? I don't know. Am I ready? Name one person who's ever truly ready to 'lead' and I'll show you a corrupt politician."
Then there's a sigh.
"For now... We're plodding along. And in the right direction."
"A bunch of NFL quarterbacks," Roy notes, as his hand is swatted away. "Well, relax, at least. Even -they- got their guys helping to keep them standing." Glancing about, Roy comments, "So what is this place, if it's not for your team?"
"The beginnings of my safehouse." Kate says as she tries to straighten herself up, and even flashes the faint beginning of a smile at Roy.
"And potentially a backup one for you, Ollie, and Mia should the need ever arise. i've /slowly/ been working on it for months, and only one or two other people in 'the community' even know it exists or where it is..."
Arching an eyebrow, Roy glances about, and then grins slowly. "Well... this is a -lot- better than the place I was using. So this is... what, the comm-center? You've got a lot of room down there for archery practice, and... hnh, could probably convert one into a fletchery-room. Not bad, Bishop, not bad. A bit... big, isn't it?" Motioning towards the ceiling, Roy adds, "Probably should set up some sort of Google Map fuzz."
There's a shrug from Kate at that.
"I'll consider it. But for now... Last resort fallback for you guys. keep using your own stuff."
"Sounds perfectly fine to me," Roy grins. "So I'll leave it to you to tell Mia." Grabbing Kate around the shoulders, the ginger tries to apply one quick nooogie to the temple. "You're all heart, Katiebug."
And as that noogie comes her way, Kate pulls back.
"I will. Eventually. Maybe Ollie. Eventually. The fact this place exists is need to know. If there's a need, and they don't know, you can tell them. Until then..."
There's a glare. Despite Roys apparent good mood.
"Until then, this is a secret."
Patting Kate on the cheek quickly, Roy grins. "Yeah, just a secret. Nice to know you care."
Using his fingers to mime zipping his lips and crossing his heart, Roy grins. "Enjoy the cookies."