12085/Killing time at the coffee shop

Killing time at the coffee shop
Date of Scene:	27 August 2020
Location:	The Coffee Bean - Manhattan
Synopsis:	A tale of too much expresso
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), She-Hulk, Harley Quinn, Winter Soldier

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The coffee bean is located in an ideal location. Near to businesses they get plenty of people popping in the morning. Near to the university, they continue their business well into the evening due to last second studies. With this combination they are pretty busy. Tonight is no exception. All the tables are occupied with clusters of students using the tables for their respective collection of laptops, notebooks, actual books, and caffienated beverages of choice. The living room style area however is pretty overlooked.

Hot tea in hand, Nick walks over towards the sofa in that section. Unlike most other patrons the backpack he has isn't loaded down with books, or a change of clothes like it was a couple nights ago. It does carry something though. It's just not open. Reaching the seat, the ballcap wearing rock star slings off his bookbag, setting it down on the floor in front of him as he sits. Ahh, the post training cup of tea. Best part of the day.

She-Hulk has posed:
Jennifer's making her own entry. She had to work late, and she's a little annoyed by that whole fact. But the tall green woman moves to steps in, walking over to the barista. She looks over. "Vanilla latte, please." She says, and then steps to the side to wait for her drink.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Is it morning, is it evening? Either way the woman who walks in, with her classic pigtails, comes stumbling into the cafe. She is squinting, her eyes are bloodshot and she's got eyeshadow, and liner, sort of smearing down her face (which isn't white currently). Stumbling in front of Jennifer as she's making her order, "Excuse me." Holding up a finger, and being rather loud, "I need, sayin' NEED here, 12 shots of espresso an' about a gallon of sugary mixes inside of a cup. Maybe a toilet, I ain't too sure yet, which is easiest to drink from?"

And she takes a moment to squint, and blink, squeezing her eyes tight and opening them up again as she looks up and up and up to the tallness of the green woman next to her. "Yer a bigg'un aren't'cha? Sorry fer cuttin' in line an' all greeny lady but I gots me an emergency. Ya know." Turning back to the person behind the counter she looks at him, "What!? Get ta work, what do I pay ya for? Huh? Jus' mopin' around like ya ain't got a degree in astrophysics?" Shaking her head she turns back to the green woman, "Peasants, am I right or what?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Usually his arrival is presaged by the roar of a motorcycle, or the report of a gunshot (sometimes well after the round had actually hit someone), but today the sound preceding the man is no more sinister than the sound of a door opening, followed immediately by the thump of a well shod boot... and shortly thereafter by the pattering of four paws as the man is followed by the dog, a German Shepherd whose collar proudly proclaims her to be 'Lili'. And Lili is carrying her own lead, neatly circumventing New York's leashing laws.

    With seemingly infinite patience, James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky to his friends and 'arghgerrof!' to his enemies who have the opportunity to make a brief in person acquaintance, joins the line, arms crossed over his chest.

    He even nods once to the lady in front of him. "Dodecaduple espresso day... had those myself."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick leans back in the sofa as a foot reaches over to snag one of the bookbag loops, pulling it up snug to the base of the sofa. His legs adjust, forming a bit of a bookbag cage with the placement of his feet. He may be relaxing but its still New York.

It's been a chaotic time. And sure, there's that whole evil sorceror thing but, there's always something going on in the city. So right now he just focuses on relaxing and letting his pipes rest up before the next round of crazy hits.

As he lifts up his head to take a sip the glimpse of a dog causes for him to look over to Lili holding the leash. "...Bear?" He turns his head, looking to the owner, momentarily disappointed that it's not the owner he was expecting. But- Wait, he knows that guy.

He waits until Bucky glimpses in his general direction before offering a wave of greeting. Small world!

She-Hulk has posed:
Jen looks over to Harley, doing a bit of a doubletake. After all, there's her appearance, and then there's the 12 shots of espresso. And, of course, after all that, there's the whole "talking to her" part. She is a "bigg'un", though. 6'7" in her bare feet, closer to 7 feet in the heels she's in right now. "Not a problem. Anyone crazy enough to go for /that/ much caffeine is welcome to it." She doesn't address the peasant comment, but looks over at the man who comes in after with the dog. "Nice dog." she says, amused. "Well-trained."

Harley Quinn has posed:
About to respond to the giant, Harley turns to face the man with the proper espresso nomenclature, Harley nods with a bit of a grimace, showing her teeth on one side and all, "It sure is Mister, sure is." And then her eyes light up and she's kneeling on the ground, "Ohhhhhhhhh, such a chwoot lil' puppy. Who's a chwoot lil' puppy?" And she shaking her head to make her hair bounce back and forth as she reaches out her hands to start scritching the dog's face and ears so long as Lili doesn't seem to mind. "Yer such a pwetty w'il'il doggie." And looking up she asks, "Does she mind the smell of blood? Sorry, I've usually got some on me, bit accident prone an' all. And after pullin' a 3 night stake out yer gonna have yerself a lil' after smell. My boys don't really mind so much, but gotta watch the teeth, they're real feral fer pups. We've learned a few tricks, like fend fer yerself, an' runamuck, but ya gotta do it yerself, no trainer's worth their weight as snacks these days."

And the tired woman who walked in, is suddenly awake and perky. Then turning back to the counter person, she gives him a look, and then to Jen as she's, hopefully, scritching a dog. "I ain't crazy, at least if you don't count the certifications. I do get participation ribbons tho'. Ya Norwegian or somethin'?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    A fond, yet glove-clad hand comes to rest on Lili's head, right between her ears, which earns Bucky an adoring look. "Smarter than me, most likely." he smiles over to Jennifer, probably as a joke. Probably. But then that's one very intelligent looking dog. So intelligent that they don't seem to mind being fussed over by a random stranger, sitting down to hold court for all the humans that seem to like her wherever she goes. It's a good life, being Lili.

    "The smell of... No, not that I know of. Might make her worry about you a bit though, it's what she does... worry for people who don't seem to be able to worry about themselves, until they can't help but worry about themselves out of sheer desire to join in with her. But she's retired now." Yup. One very smart pupper.

    For a moment, Bucky glances over to the sofa and gives Nick a nod that seems to promise his presence the moment he's free, and properly caffeinated.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Getting a nod, Nick smiles a bit as the dog is obviously getting LOTS of attention from some of the other patrons, but the smile fades a bit as the one rolling around with the pup also looks a little familiar. Well, from the brief glances of the face. Would that be the lady who snuck back stage pretending to be a reporter accusing him of fathering some kid named after a snack cake?

She-Hulk has posed:
"I dunno." Jen replies dubiously to Harley as she claims her lack of crazy, but the latter portion gets her to look amused. "Sure. Cuz, y'know, we come in green in Norway." The comment about retired gets a slight head-tilt to Bucky. "Former K-9?" Her own latte finally comes up, and she picks it up, taking a long pull off it. One minor perk of gamma radiation; you can't burn yourself on hot coffee.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Having gotten seriously distracted by Lili, Harley is very much just giving loads and loads of attention to the animal while she is kind of squat crouched. When the name on her drink is called, "Doctor Quinzel, medicine woman?" The barista calls out, and Harley stands up.

"That's me, ya did good work, though I meant literally a gallon of the sugary stuff. This time I won't charge ya fer the mistake though." And she fishes out a few coins from her boots, a long string, and some toothpaste which she drops into the TIP jar. "It ain't fer you, it's fer the rest of us." And with that she has her largest coffee this place makes.

Unlike her Norwegian friend, she can be burned, but she takes a long gulp anyhow and then moves around her mouth, "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow hot." Then she drinks another gulp, "Urrrrhhhg, this is like lava. It's pretty tastey though, like a mix of sugar an' coffee, I should market this. Sugar Coffee when ya really need a pick me up. An' some diabetes." Then she looks over at Lili, "Ya comin' girl? Ya can sit on my lap, or sleep cutely wit' yer head on me, I promise I won't bite."

She holds her fingers crossed though, behind her back, and it would've been stealthy had she not turned to walk over to the comfy chairs where Nick happens to be. She squints at him, then looks around, "Don't mind me fella, I'm jus' joinin' ya, free country an' all that. Ya got a name, Mine's Harls, that there in the rather attractive Norwegian skin suit, is Giant Green Lady, then her friend the Professor, an' course, needin' no introduction, Lili, the amazing dog. You?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    A shake of the head. "Therapy. But her patient's better now, so she gets to enjoy herself all the time without having to worry about them constantly. She still does, but that's just in her nature. Could have been K-9, but she was too smart." Lili just sits and enjoys the attention, looking momentarily tempted to join Harley but staying with her human for now... just when Bucky finally gets to order his coffee.

    "Black, one sugar."

    He ... probably doesn't come here a lot. Or order in any other coffee chains... or seems not to understand how this thing works.

    But he stands there, impassively, simply waiting to be served, like the world's most intense coffee-craving statue.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Harley comes closer, looking to him. He looks back. With the closer proximity, it does appear this would be the woman who snuck backstage who... apparently didn't know the act that was playing when she decided to do it. Huh.

"Nick." He supplies, looking to her and then glancing to the lengthy name written on the side of the cup. "...how old is that show?"

She-Hulk has posed:
Jennifer watches the Harley Show, and then chuckles a little. "You'll be awake for days with that much caffeine at your size." She'll give her own name finally when Harley tries introducing her. "Jennifer Walters." As if anyone DIDN'T know the giant green woman. She chuckles at Bucky's order. "Old-fashioned tastes, huh?" she asks with a chuckle. She stays closer to the counter while talking to Bucky.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Looking up and over to Nick, while coming back from another far too much too fast hot coffee complaint, "Ow, hot, jeez, this thing needs some salsa or somethin' in it." A pause, "Oh, it ain't that old, I see it all the time on BoobTube.com. I mean, ya go to a site thinkin' yer gonna get one thing, and then ya end up binge watchin' a woman empowerment tv show set in the old west." A shake of her head, "She ain't exactly my kind of Doctor tho'."

As Jennifer comes over, to join in, Harley shakes her head, "Days? I've already been up fer days. Didn't ya hear me earlier, stake out. For 3 days, 4 nights, it wasn't even in an Island getaway. More like an oldsmobile." A shrug as she wonders, "So, you get bitten by some kind of radioactive plant or somethin'?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Nothing wrong with plain old coffee. If you can't get proper coffee, what's the point of a coffee shop?" Bucky seems to be talking as much to the Barista as he is to Jennifer, as if to encourage the luckless coffee artist to put away the fancy cups, the shots of vanilla essence and stick with the absolute basics. Somehow that ends up taking longer than a triple shot mocha ventri, but Bucky is nothing if not patient. Eventually his coffee arrives, in a proper ceramic mug, with saucer and spoon, because some employees have a well developed survival instinct.

    "Thank you." the man intones and makes his way to the sofa area, the only place where there is still any seating. "You'd think I was asking for something unusual. But then the plain thing is usually harder to get than the oddity, isn't it Nick?"

She-Hulk has posed:
Jen starts to make her way over to the furniture as well. "Bitten by a radioactive paint can." she quips back to Harley. She considers, then picks what looks like the sturdiest chair and sits carefully in it.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"And what type of doctor is that?" Nick asks, Hmm. Seems like a safe enough topic. Right? He lifts up his cup, sipping his tea carefully.

Nick glances up as he hears his name, looking over to the approaching Bucky. "I come by here enough times they know how I like my tea and coffee." He admits, "Service is pretty quick. Doesn't take much to fulfil the order. But, every so often a new guy will give me a look."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Ohhhhhh." And Harley nods her head a few times and then looks over at Nick, giving a 'psst' and then rotating her finger around her ear in the universal 'crazy' symbol, and then she turns back and smiles big. Nodding her head, "Sure thing lady, Radioactive Paint Can." And then back to Nick, leaning in to whisper, kind of loudly, "Ain't no one ever heard of a radioactive paint can biting. Now a paint brush? Them things got teeth." And then with that she offers, "Psychologist by trade. And I'm a fer real Doctor, not like that Phil fella or Oz bungaloo."

With Bucky coming back closer though, she does pat her lap a bit, and look to Lili, clearly the winner of all the proper attentions here. "Lili's a good lap dog, right? I mean Bud, Lou, they fight over a good lap."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "She's a bit picky about laps." Bucky mentions, as Lili seems torn about actually taking the invitation or not. Instead, she compromises and curls up in the exact center of the group of humans, giving each of them the exact amount of potential attention.

    The man himself first puts down his coffee, and then sits down, adjusting the knees of his pants before he does so they don't snag. That's an old fashioned motion if ever there was one... Not that his current denim needs such attention or care, but it seems he's used to wearing less hard wearing clothing. Or acts that way at any rate. Enigma, activate.

    "Doctor Quinzel... name rings a bell." Siiiiip, delicious coffee, and then it seems to come to him. "Specialty in behavioral psychosis and criminal dysfunction, I believe?" Yup, not a single mention of anything other than professional accomplishments...

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick looks over to Bucky at the summary of Harley's credentials, "Huh...still practicing?" He's momentarily tempted to ask her if she knew Dr. Willison but considering past interactions, that'd probably not be a good idea.

Nick looks down to Lili, slight smile forming as he views the dog, keeping his hand stills as he views for a vest. Seeing none, he shifts forward a bit, holding the back of his hand out in case the canine joining them wants to sniff. "Nice dog." He states to the other long haired man, "Oh, seems the doctor here wants to call you professor." He glances up, smile still holding, "That what you want to go by today?"

She-Hulk has posed:
Jen sips her latte, looking more amused than anything at Harley's assessment of her being crazy. "Well, think I'm going to haul myself off to get some rest. Court comes early in the morning." She stands, and gives a nod to everyone, before heading for the door.

Harley Quinn has posed:
The dog doesn't come to her lap, and Harley gives Lili a side look. She turns her body some, gets into a more 'proper' posture, and then hrumphs. She looks over to Bucky, "Lili ain't seemin' like she is big into laps. I'm not use'ta a pup who won't chew on a lil' flesh. Ya know? Ooooh, maybe she'd like..." And she starts fishing around inside of her bra a moment, "One moment." And off to the other side, and then she pulls out a piece of jerky, "Here ya go girl, ya want a piece?" She sort of waves it in Lili's direction, but she isn't moving just yet. Using it as a bargaining chip for the lap or the seat next to her at least.

"Certainly am, in the flesh an' all that. Nice'ta meet a fan." Harley smiles and nods her head, "Let me tell ya. My thesis was pretty much laughed at, but then I had a chance ta rebuttal. And butt I did, right inta them smarty pants's faces. I always was doin' the work fer helpin' others, but ya can never count on lovin' yer work. Ya know?" And she fiddles with the jerky a bit, drinking down more of her coffee, and then chews on the dog treat for a second, tearing a bit off before fishing it forward again for Lili. To the green woman, she offers a wave and watches her head out, "Court? Ya think she was caught stealin' a car or something. I mean, like over her shoulders, nice an' brawny that one. Bet she don't need no baseball bat ta get people ta talk."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn adds, for Nick's benefit, "I am still practicin' though. I know a fella, definitely a cat guy, an' that's just clearly wrong, so I'm workin' him over ta get him to appreciate the loyalty of a dog."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Good luck." Bucky nods to Jennifer as she makes her way out of the coffee shop, half amused at the interchange between her and Harley. For a moment, it seems like a smile was even threatening to appear.

    Lili looks at the jerky with longing, but then she has been training not to accept treats from anyone but her own human. Literal Pavlovian training, most likely, and that sort of conditioning is hard to break. Again a compromise is reached, and Lili simply rolls over onto her back, offering her belly for rubs. Your move, human.

    "Still going by James." Bucky now actually smiles over to Nick "But I like professor. I may have to use that one from time to time. With your permission, of course, Doctor Quinzel."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As his hand was ignored, Nick uses it to give a wave to the departing She-Hulk. Nick's head tilts curiously, "Who'd want a cat if they could have a dog?"

He looks over to Bucky, "Ah, so that's what your name is. I don't think we ever actually did introductions last time."

He looks to the pup again, lowering his hand once more, "Professor James... With a focus in art. Yeah I could see that."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Fanning herself with her hand, Harley offers, "Ya sure are a gentle man, mister. Askin' my permission, callin' me Doctor? An' me without my surgical gloves." She shakes her head a bit and takes another drink of her hot liquid concoction of sugar. She then watches Lili and quirks her mouth a bit to the side, and turns herself around so that her head is draping off of the couch, settling her drink on a nearby table.

This means her legs are up on the back of the seat, and her head is down close to the ground with her pigtails dangling the rest of the way, "Ya certainly have my permission ta call yerself whatever ya want. I mean, that's part of the problem with today's societal norms. Ain't nobody normal, not within reach of a twenty thousand mile pole." And then she puts the jerky in her mouth and makes a few sucking sounds to try and get Lili's attention without requiring her to get up on her lap, just give her kisses and grab the treat.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    By now there's a soft whine from Lili, and she looks over to her human, pleading. Bucky rolls his eyes and nods "Go on then." After all, Harley has taken a few bites of that jerky herself, so it clearly isn't going to be poisoned. Rolling again, the shepherd springs to her feet and bounds over to the treat, giving Harley a few happy licks before chomping down.

    Shaking his head, Bucky looks over to Nick. "Like I said, she's very smart. But also extremely loyal, so sometimes things get a bit conflicted." He... is talking about Lili, right? "Professor James, does have a nice ring to it. But art? Dunno, rather be a professor of something that pays the bills."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick glances down from his upright position on the sofa to the inverted Harley. The cup holding hand lifts, exposing the scar on the underside of his right forearm. He watches the treat taking before glancing over to Bucky. Still holding the cup up.

"Ah- Some type of Engineering?" He pauses, "I'm not going to be much help picking a fake career path. The only reason I have for being on a college campus is voice coaching. I don't know what the hell type majors there are right now."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn laughing out loud when her face is licked, and then tugging a moment on the treat after Lili has it, Harley then finally relinquishes it and gives a good solid pet to the girl's head. Pulling herself back up, she slides off the back of the couch, and then rolls turns with a 'big step' to step over the back of the couch and slide back into a sitting position. All, missing her drink that was right there next to her on a small table.

With a bit of laughter, Harley nods her head to Bucky's assessment of the whole degree thing. "Zing, ta all them artists. Surprisingly, though, museum artwork is pretty expensive. Maybe ya got a different type of business plan in that?" Then she hrms, "Fake career path? I ain't followin'."

More of her coffee is downed, but no longer is it burning. "He is just intelligent. Knows my work, that takes effort, an' he knows how to count up to 12 in Espressoshotese. That's why he's The Professor. That or else we were stuck on an island together for 3 years... ain't too sure no more. After that stake out I been losin' focus."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Those cop movies make it look so easy, right? Just sit in a car, drink coffee, eat donuts, waiting for the guy you're looking for to obligingly step outside just when you're watching the door again, have him look the wrong way to spot you, and then drive away in an easily spotted car down a road with only just enough traffic to hide in." Bucky shakes his head, taking a good gulp of his coffee. "Wish it was that simple."

    Lili bounds back to her human with a happy tilt to her ears, showing off the treat she got before finally nomming it down. Look what I got, human! Look, look! A hand descends between her ears again, the gloved fingers scratching slowly.

    "Don't think we spent three years on an island. Reckon I'd remember that."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick watches as Harley rights herself up via the back of the sofa. "For the professor th-" He pauses, shaking his head, "Just forget about it."

As Bucky shares his understanding of stakeouts, he looks to him curiously. He opens his mouth but after consideration he sips his tea instead.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn nods a few times to Bucky's comment as he talks about the time in a car, and donuts and coffee. She smiles and then nods, "An' then ya gotta go buy stakes, an' find a nice sound proofed room ta order takeout." And she sighs, "Good ta know that there's another good citizen out there doin' his duty." With that she stands up, stretches, gulps down the rest of her coffee. "Well, gentle lads an' lady." She tips her head to the dog, "I feel as though I've got ta get back at it. Important work an' all that. Have yerselves a merry lil' Hannukah an' don't let the bugs bite. But if they do, remember ta take a chainsaw and whack'em ... real hard."

Rubbing her hands together she looks at the door, "Alright New York, I'm comin' fer ya." With all that build up, she just sighs and starts making her way for the door.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Stakes... of course..." Blink. Okay. Bucky drains his coffee in one go, deciding not to comment on that statement, given that nothing he can say would make it any less surreal. Perhaps he doesn't want it to be less surreal. If art is his game, he might be a surrealist, which is likely better than a realist, but weirder.

    "Good luck, Doctor Quinzel." "Whurf!" "And the same from Lili."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Night, Doc." Nick says in parting to the pigtailed expresso drinker. He turns his head to look to the departing Harley, watching quietly. Brow raised.

As the door closes and it's safe to talk he looks over to Bucky, "...I get the feeling she's like that in every conversation."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I doubt it." Bucky comments, putting down the cup with a clink of ceramic on ceramic as it hits the saucer. "Only the ones she has with other people, I suspect."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Last time I met her she had snuck back stage pretending to be a reporter accusing me of fathering some kid named after a snack cake." Nick replies, "S-" He pauses. Looking to Bucky quietly for a few moments before lowering his head, bringing up his left hand to rub at his temples. His shoulders start to shake in silent laughter. "Yep. Only with other people." A few low chuckles become audible.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "We're all victims of what this world makes of us." Bucky finishes and stands up, looking around the room for a moment as if looking for someone, and relaxing fractionally when whoever that might be fails to appear. "And an artist should know that they key to comedy is timing. The less you joke, the funnier it gets when you do."

    There a brief nod, and a tap of his left hand to his leg. It's... an oddly solid sound, but then he might have accidentally tapped onto something solid in his pocket. Lili seems to understand the signal and gets back up, picking up her own leash and falling in next to her human as he strides for the door. "Be seeing you Nick."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, smiling, trying out the newly acquired name in the greeting. "See you around James." He looks to Lili, smile still present as the pair make their way out. Maybe you too.