12104/Giant Robots From Outer Space

Giant Robots From Outer Space
Date of Scene:	01 September 2020
Location:	Abandoned Diner, Middle of No Where, New York State
Synopsis:	Giant robots have been fighting and somehow the X-Men ended up with the info. Go figure. They seek out the Avengers since the X-Men have had enough of giant robots in their lives.
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Phoenix, Black Widow (Romanoff), Captain America

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Cyclops has posed:
Having a 'secret' phone number for 'in case of emergencies', Scott Summers actually used it for a change, despite the back and forths he went about in his mind. After the Sentinel attacks from last year, trusting the 'Government' in any facet has been a hot topic for the X-Men. With human and mutant relations seemingly drifting further apart, trust has been as thin as ice in the minds of those who are hated and hunted in their own streets. The call would have been simple:

"Miss Romanoff, the X-Men have business that may be of interest to Shield involving an alien invasion of sorts. Can we meet?"

The place they picked out was both agreed upon and neutral territory. An old abandoned diner off the freeway with an accessible back entrance. A 'safehouse' so to speak. With faded paint and cracked glass on the outside, this once homely eating established has long been abandoned for decades. Eat at Joe's is now just a memory of those who used to travel by as children.

The car pulls up out front, a solid black Honda of a current model with lightly tinted windows and New York plates. It doesn't stand out much in a crowd as it's a base model. Once it's parked out back, the X-Men's field leader steps out, then rounds the vehicle the open the door for Jean on at the passenger side. He's wearing khaki pants, a tucked in polo shirt and his red Raybans made of ruby quartz to keep his powers in check.

'We're here'. Is the text message sent out on his phone.

Phoenix has posed:
Even before their car approached the site, Jean's mind was well ahead of them. Searching, scanning; years of measured paranoia and care that's helped keep her people safe as much as its kept them isolated. If there's any ill intent up ahead, she was determined to find out before they arrived. Either there is none or she missed it, as the pair arrive at the appointed time without bolting.

She steps out of the car in black jeans and a belted green tunic, nothing that'd look too out of place. Her chest rises and falls in a slow and steady breath as her eyes lightly travel over the landscape she'd already been mapping out.

<< Let's hope this goes quick. >> She says through the psychic link between herself and Scott.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There is no setup. No agents hiding behind the building or in the treeline. At least nothing they can see or sense.

A few miles away, a plain black SUV with likely illegal tint on the windows was traveling the quiet roadway headed for the abandoned diner. Not a lot of traffic out here. Few people came this way since the place closed twenty years ago. After all, the city twelve miles the opposite direction had everything someone could want!

Natasha was driving, dressed casually in a pair of jeans with a white blouse. A lightweight black leather jacket was over the top, worn open but necessary to hide those things that people like her tended to carry for a secret rendezvous. She had no expectations anything would go sideways but she also hadn't lived this long by trusting anything to go smoothly.

As her phone buzzed, she put a finger on the sensor then glanced at it. A moment later, she was tossing it over into the hands of the man in the passenger seat. "Would you answer that, please? Don't want to text and drive. And don't go poking around in there too much. You'll regret your choice," she adds with a hint of a smirk. "We should be there in about three minutes." Since she wasn't exactly traveling the speed limit either.

Captain America has posed:
    And, to be fair, the minds in that black SUV are ones that might well trigger some hint of surprise if not familiarity. For the man in that passenger seat, none other than Steve Rogers, has a subtly different way of looking at things than the modern minds of those around him.
    He catches that phone and gives a look at the screen, then nods in answer to Nat's words given to him. Sidelong he murmurs, "Good thinking. Dangerous enough riding with you in any case." Without exacerbating it with wild texting.
    The message is sent back with little ado.

<< ETA 3 mins >>

    Though he doesn't immediately close the phone, if only to give Romanoff a little moment of uncertainty as he says sidelong. "Anything I should know before going in or am I here to just look imposing?"
    Which might earn him a look.
    To which he responds with, "I can look imposing." As if trying to convince her. Yet that is the moment the vehicle rolls to the rendezvous point which has him closing the phone, handing it back to her... and then getting out of the vehicle.

Cyclops has posed:
<< Three minutes. >> Scott passes over to Jean through their psychic link they share as he leans against the side of the car. He tucks his phone into his front pocket, then folds his arms over his chest as he gives a casual look about.

<< I read this place was really popular thirty years ago or so. Even the President would come by and eat. I feel like this is a place I would enjoy coming to as a kid. Kind of feel I was born in the wrong decade. >>

As he leans over, his shoulder gives a gentle bump to Jean's, followed by sliding his hand out to curl into one of hers for a squeeze. As his thumb brushes over her knuckles, he gives a light clear of his throat.

<< Three minutes is the most alone time we've had in weeks. We should do this more often. >>

Phoenix has posed:
<< I'll make sure to pencil in more robot alien landings into the calendar. >> Jean's face has a ghost of a smile that pulls back one corner of her mouth. << I'd suggest - with as much time traveling that crops up - that we could go see it in its prime, but we both know that would end absolutely badly. Adventures always do.>>

There's a pause in her speaking as she lifts her chin and looks down the road. << They're coming. >> And sure enough, the car is soon seen making its way to the appointed meeting zone.

Her posture is all business then as she stands close enough to Scott to touch but not. Relaxed, calm, but mindful. Green eyes settle on the door that opens, and out comes none other than Steve Rogers himself. << Well, looks like you'll get a bit of that flashback after all. All your's, darling. >> To the arrival, there's a pleasant smile on her face but no talking yet.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Just for that, I'm taking you on the defensive driving course with me next time SHIELD has training," Natasha warns at the comment. She's smiling though, taking any vitrol out of her actual words. "They wanted Avengers so you don't have to look imposing, though I'm sure you can pull it off." As they stop, she shoves the phone back in her pocket and shuts down the engine of the SUV. As Steve hops out, so does she.

Her approach is casual, a slight smile on her face as she looks from the woman to the man. She's heard of them, of course. Not just from her 'uncle' but also through her work connections. Not that they were talked about over the water cooler but they knew of the X-Men and some of their members.

Having not met them in person herself though, she went for the introductions. Even though she was a known Avenger, it was just polite. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Natasha Romanoff. Any friend of Logan's I consider a friend so you can call me Natasha." She nods to the taller man who was with her, allowing him to introduce himself rather than her presuming how he might want to be presented to them.

Captain America has posed:
    Nat has point in this, but that doesn't mean Steve slacks off. The way he gets out of the car, closes the door, adjusts the hang of the baseball cap upon his brow. Civvies is what he's wearing, which to most normal people means jeans, sneakers, and a blue windbreaker. Yet still, it's definitely him if one has paid attention to the Avengers these last few years.
    Falling into step he moves at Natasha's side and a pace behind, eyes moving to take the measure of the land, to identify likely spots for a sniper or possible point of ambush. Yet his manner is seemingly at ease.
    Then once they're close enough he turns his attention to the others, offering a smile as he gives a single nod in greeting meant for the both of them.
    "Steve."

Cyclops has posed:
Giving a nod of his head, Scott's hand slides away from Jean's once the vehicle pulls up. Growing rigid once more, he waits patiently for them to exit the vehicle. He glances first from Natasha, to Steve, his gaze hidden behind his red shades lingering on the man for a long moment.

"You are Captain America. It is an honor to meet you, sir."

Though the tone is stoic and lacks much in the way of emotion, there is a hint of childish revelry behind the words. He's in the presence of a true hero. A legend. Every 'boy' knows who Captain Steve Rogers is. /Every/ boy.

"Thank you for meeting with us. I am Scott Summers and this is Jean Grey. Cyclops and Phoenix when out in the field. One of our teammembers alerted us of an alien presence having made contact with them recently as they were injured. It's name is Blurr. Some type of sentient .. robot .. that can transform into vehicles. It has been hunted by another of it's kind that goes by the name of Lockdown."

<< This sounds stupid saying it outloud. This is not how I wanted to meet Captain America for the first time. >>

Reaching up with a finger to push his red shades up farther along his face to settle them, he clears his throat. "Supposedly this species of sentient robots come from a planet quite a bit aways and they have begun to colonize themselves here on Earth. They've been involved in some type of intergalatic war for quite some time and have brought their rivalry to our planet. My team has one of them, injured and in need of repairs. I made the decision that this is not X-Men's business and we felt this is something perhaps SHIELD is far more suited to handle."

He gives a glance between the pair of Avengers, clearing his throat again as his lips press together. "And as I'm sure you can imagine, we are not fans of large, killer robots."

Phoenix has posed:
"Yes, thanks for meeting us on short notice. Our apologies that we didn't provide much information ahead of time, but we didn't want to leave this discussion to be had over lines given what we're dealing with." Jean says towards Steve and Natasha with a dip of her head before letting Scott have the cracked pavement floor.

<< I had to save Superman from a semi-sentient mushroom in one of Batman's bolt holes. It all sounds stupid out loud. >>

"Our trepidations about potentially deadly mechs aside, given that these beings are involved in a war we wanted to ensure that SHIELD was aware of it given its reach. Maybe it already is, but it's better to be safe than assume. Where there's two, there may be more. Similarly, the Avengers seem better suited to handling issues that may extend beyond our atmosphere."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
As they explain, there is no negative response from Natasha. No looking at them like they are crazy. No laughing at the silliness that they say. After all, the words are silly when put in a sentence.

Yet, they have fought gods, sentient mushrooms, aliens and everything in between. No wonder they thought to call for SHIELD or the Avengers.

"I understand why you would not want anything to do with them, even without them bringing a potential intergalactic war with them."

She glances over at Steve then to the pair of X-Men again. "You say you have one of them? Probably better we stick to Avengers on this. If we go with SHIELD, they might just want to take him apart. So it's got to be Avengers or even Alpha Flight. Then tend to have a lot of space contacts. Or the Fantastic Four." She pauses then glances back over to the Xers. "You said he is in need of repairs?"

Captain America has posed:
    Meeting the eyes of the youth with the red visored glasses, Cap smiles and lifts a hand as if to accept the compliment but also to gently brush it aside as not his due. Yet he says, "It's good to work with you, Scott. We'll get this handled." Though he has no idea the width or the breadth of the situation for now, but he gives a nod to both him and Jean.
    Then the meat of the matter is broached and he shifts to focus on the words given, listening and nodding at points as relevant details are offered. Occasionally the blue-eyed Avenger glances over towards Natasha and Jean, but as Scott speaks the young man has his focus nearly entirely.
    "A robot, similar to the Bastion Sentinel?" Which might not be surprising to imagine his thoughts go in that direction considering that was the last sentient robotic organism he had encountered some time ago. But then at Scott's closing words he nods and glances at Nat about the same time, "We do have facilities for it, or Alpha Flight." Then he looks at Nat and just says, "Stark.""
    His attention shifts to Jean as she speaks, "It's understandable with the secrecy needed. Hopefully in the future we can share information easier." A look toward Nat is given to perhaps see if she mirrors his sentiment, but even if not he'll turn back to smile at the X-ers.
    Then to all three he murmurs, "We could probably move him in 24 hours," If they got their ducks in a row.

Cyclops has posed:
"It was described to me that Blurr is about two to three stories tall and can turn into a sports car. I do not know what type of repairs it needs. I am sure it extends farther than an oil change. Supposedly both Blurr and Lockdown are looking for some type of .. transponder .. that is incredibly important to their species. Right now, the robot is being held in a pocket realm of Avalon by .. Morgana La Fey."

<< The more I talk, the more stupid I sound. We need to have a talk with the team about who they ally with and develop a policy in regards to communications in the field. >>

Scott lets out a slow breath from between his lips. "My teammate can teleport the robot to you, wherever you want it. From what I was told, this particular robot is a friendly. Lockdown may be a bounty hunter. Chaotic neutral. I don't know where this other robot is currently at. I am sure that information can be gleaned from 'Blurr' once you meet it."

Phoenix has posed:
<< We're due for a team meeting anyway. Scott, robot first, terrible choices in friends second. >> Jean gently tries to steer her cohort-leader back on mental track.

"Another reason we wanted to get this handled quickly. It was an emergency choice to prevent others from tracking it, but clearly not an appropriate place to keep it even with our own keeping watch." Jean says out loud. "To my knowledge, it's badly damaged and not very functional at the present. I'm less concerned about this particular being than I am the ones it may attract. Being that we've helped this one, it sets our allegiance in the eyes of its enemies. So, it's your call where and when we turn over custody of it to you. Just let us know."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Morgana La Fey. As in...the?" Natasha asks, sounding slightly surprised. While it might seem a bit out there to be discussing such a character as though they were real, they had Thor as a teammate. They couldn't really look at mythology the same way, all things considered. So maybe this was /the/ Morgana La Fey. "Nevermind. I'll ask about that later."

She glances to Steve, an arch of a brow all the conversation they need after so many years as teammates. "We'll look into a secure location where he will be safe for now. See what else he can tell us. We don't want to take sides in a war but we don't want to leave him out there to be killed either. For now, continue to keep him safe and preferably as far from your headquarters as possible." Being a school, they don't want to chance the children being in the crossfire.

"We'll go see what we can get arranged and be in touch. Thanks for reaching out and trusting us. Hopefully this will be the start of something more with our groups."