13774/It's On The House

It's On The House
Date of Scene:	31 August 2021
Location:	Sister Margaret's School for Wayward Girls
Synopsis:	Juggernaut makes a new friend and the world trembles.
Cast of Characters:	Juggernaut, Berri Sundae

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Juggernaut has posed:
The mercenary line of work is not for the faint of heart, especially when centered around an area like New York, considering the colorful assortment of indivdiuals who call themselves mercs and the abundance of super powered individuals that crowd each other out as they jostle for attention from potential clients. Rivalries can be fierce, arguements dangerous and fights deadly but business is business and the show must go on, as they say.

As a result, even in neutral ground like the infamous bar at Sister Margarets, it helps to have a reputation when you're passing through since you never know who you might encounter.

Few, if any, have a reputation quite like The Juggernaut. His presence practically fills the bar up despite its accomodations somehow being capable of entertaining his gigantic bulk and kaiju like presence. The floor rumbles and the walls shake as he passes by tables with wide eyed and silent mercenaries giving him long stares and or quick shuddering glances. It doesn't help that he's armored up as well. His red-brown gear wrapping about his monstrous physique tightly and creaking and groaning under the fiberous movements of his bulk, not to mention that helmet of his. It might imply he's here for just business and in truth, he does have business in the area. But he also wants a drink, if only to simulate an attempt at getting a buzz. Getting fully drunk isn't an option after all.

Any costumed villainous and mercenary types present give him a wide berth or a nod of respect though some mutterings are also happening as well and it aint all complimentary.

"You know what I want." he rumbles to the bartender upon reaching the bar and towering overhead, "Make it quick."

Berri Sundae has posed:
The mercenary life did have its benefits though, especially if one was used to having to become a bit of a 'survivor'. Turning essential habbits into profitable skills? Well, that just simply made sense. Even crime could pay despite the equally colorful bands of 'heroes' and do-gooders who liked to throw their own inhuman abilities at people's attempts to make a living, honest or otherwise!

It was nice to take a break, enjoy a moment where Berri could enjoy themselves and spend some of their profits. Sister Margarets was one of the better places for that, and one of the few places where plenty of people knew the reputation of the young 'icecream' colored psychic.

Pushing through the door a few moments after the Juggernaut, Berri's path lazily took her toward the bar herself and her eyes were inevitably drawn -up- to the towering figure, a tilt of her head and a blink that might well have been awe to see the height difference between them up close.

The bartender, likely apptly terrified of Cain had made a start on his drink...until he suddenly seemed to shiver, attention moving to Berri without a word and rushing to hand her a soda first after a little telepathic nudge.

Juggernaut has posed:
"Hey!"

Juggernaut blinks a few times in surprise as sees this happen. He watches in disbelief and then has a brief moment of self reflection. Has he..has he lost his touch? His charisma? That little dash of 'something' that makes him terrifying?

He reaches over to grab for the bartender after he finishes with handing Berri the soda and he leans in, huge body looming over the bar like a sequoia bending over.

"You lost your damn mind? Nobody takes cuts infront of The Juggernaut.." he rumbles with a sudden menace to his voice and then he flicks his gaze over and then down..way down..waaaaay down..to Berri.

"Uh." he grunts, looking shocked to see her and surprised.

"Aint you..a little young to be here, kid? They don't exactly specialize in Pepsi..."

Berri Sundae has posed:
Technically he was right, but then...apparently that didn't phase Berri. There's actually a smirk on her lips as the bartender seems to blink back to awareness and almost certainly start offering his stammering apologies...if not currently wetting himself. He had no idea why he'd suddenly forgot about the titan threatening him after all.

Berri herself cranes her head back as she lazily hops up onto the stool behind her, bringing her knees together and silently shrugging her shoulders. His words? Her lips quirk to a smirk before she lifts the can in her hand. Coke, not Pepsi.

Apparently she found that funny!

There's a tilt of her head the other way, a furrow of her brow at the feeling of that helmet effortlessly blocking out the usual 'peek' she'd take. Interesting.

Juggernaut has posed:
"Oh sorry." says Juggernaut. His deep voice rumbling with sarcasm that practically drips with the force of a waterfall crashing down. "Coke. Not Pepsi. Har."

He reaches out and wraps his enormous hand around a full sized keg that is lifted onto the bar by the bartender and then he frowns as he hears... 'nothing' so to speak.

"Hey.... You just gonna sit there and stare at me? Aint got a name? Where's your parents? Are you somebody's side kick?"

It's a flurry of questions that finally ends with Juggernaut getting more frustrated, "What the hell kid, say something!"

Berri Sundae has posed:
Apparently she was, at least for a time, content to stare. That same silent, innocent face deflecting all of those questions with frusstrating blankness for a moment until that frustration reaches levels where she can sense the rest of the crowd getting considerably nervous.

Fine

A lift of her hand, a single finger gesturing for 'One moment' as she reached into her slim-fitting pants pocket, drawing out a smartphone and typing out a few words spoken by the 'text-to-speech' app.

<I'm going to guess you don't speak sign language, my name is Berri>

Juggernaut has posed:
"Naw I don't speak that. Haven't needed to. Don't need to." responds the goliath after taking a long swig of his keg. He lowers it down and then peers at the phone a little longer before shrugging, rolling his boulder like shoulders with a rumble that sounds more like an earthquake then a man.

"Berri huh?" Juggernaut presses his lips together in thought. He could just ignore her. Juggernaut striking up a conversation with some bold girl isn't usually the type of thing most people associate him with..

But he's always taken some delight in always keeping them guessing.

"So what are you DOING here Berri? Can't you go get a coke from the store around the corner? You here sight seein'?"

Berri Sundae has posed:
Her lips quirk, a small sip of her drink taken while her free hand taps away at the phone screen, her eyes looking up at the massive merc without any apparent fear for the figure that could likely crush her with one hand.

<I'm enjoying a break between work, waiting for my next call.>

She shifts, lowering her drink and lifting a hand to gesture to herself as if to punctuate her phone's speech. <Just because I'm not as big as you doesn't mean I'm not one of the best mercs in this place.>

Juggernaut has posed:
"Hey look, I aint judging." says Juggernaut, sounding amused now. Not exactly good natured or affable but he does look more at ease now.

"So what, are you like..actually a hundred years old or something? Or I guess they don't care and all but it just aint normal to let some little girl in here, merc or no. Now...the -best- merc in here? Or one of 'em?" Juggernaut grins slowly and holds up a huge finger, "That I probably don't know about. Not sure I heard o'you before..unless you're a shapeshifter of some sort..in addition to bein' like a hundred. So what is it? What makes you so good?"

Berri Sundae has posed:
Wordlessly a brow rises at his mention of her being some sort of shapeshifter or old immortal being of somekind, but Berri shakes her head and smirks, tilting her head to the otherside.

<I have my own tricks, and people tend to underestimate me more than a little bit...>

Giving a little soundless laugh, the parasol she had resting at her side is lifted, a lazy little poke offered to the giant man's chest while she offers a wink.

<Maybe you'll find out sometime.>

Of course, she wasn't going to mention that his mind seemed frustratingly out of reach.

Juggernaut has posed:
Yet Juggernaut is no fool. Single minded but no fool. He's experienced as a mercenary..a so called 'villain' and even, on occasion, a sort of anti-hero. If she's bold enough to be in here and to engage him, of all people, in conversation..underestimating her would be one of the last things he should be doing.

At the same time he -is- The Juggernaut so a bit of over confidence comes with the territory.

"Oh yeah? For your sake whatever I find out better be fun and games." he responds with a bemused rumble..and the under current of a threat.

"But I aint stupid. You're in here. You're well spoken. You're -wanting- to talk to me..so..you probably got some tricks up your sleeve to make it worth it. I'll buy it, even if I still think you look a little young for this business. Trying to pay off some school debt or something? Probably easier ways to do that then having to run all over the world for folk.."

Berri Sundae has posed:
<It's a rough world,> Berri types, making to stand from her char and setting her paraol aside. His apparent acceptance however? That earns a little nod of her head before leaning against the bar lightly.

No typing this time, instead the young woman reaches up to gesture at his helmet, clear questioning on her face. It was likely not the first time he'd been asked even if this time was in improvised charades.

What's with the helmet?

Juggernaut has posed:
"Yeah it's rough alright." confirms Juggernaut after taking another swig from his keg and just about finishing it all off. He grins a little at the question and inclines her head,

"Hmm..don't know who I am? I thought you were onna the top mercs here." He reaches up and taps the helmet with a thick tree branch of a finger.

"Keeps my face pretty, right? So why do you need to know? What's up with that umbrella? It aint raining."

Berri Sundae has posed:
Fair response, and fair question given back. Berri rolls her eyes at his question. She likely did know his name, she never asked for it after all, but still she had been curious about the metal protection.

The parasol? She reaches for it, offering a little silent laugh before she lifts the protection over her shoulder...and gently twists the handle, drawing out the concealed blade within a few inches before replacing it.

<Sometimes it does rain...sometimes it's just for style.>

Juggernaut has posed:
With that, the giant reaches up and grabs hold of the side of his helmet. There's a clanking sound and a faint crackle like distant static eletricity..and then the helmet is being lifted off--to reveal his thick necked head and the similarly colored skullcap and partial facemask made of similar material covering his head. Still no telepathic contact possible. He tugs at the straps holding that on, mostly to adjust it and get it more comfortable. It'll be easier to drink at least.

"There. That better?" he rumbles sardonically. His facial features are still abit of a mystery although that big brickish jaw and the large teeth that show when he grins seems to give the impression of a gargantuan brain-dead bully and jock able to grind bones between his teeth.

"Protection is fair. Protection while stylin'? Even better.."

Berri Sundae has posed:
Perhaps deduction was going to help, or maybe she'd come to the wrong conclusion, but if she couldn't touch his mind than she'd just have to deal with it. She didn't usually advertise her telepathic abilities, at least unless it were one of her more high-level employers, so this wasn't exactly the first time to try and converse like this.

A lazy gesture of her hand, she makes to reach for her soda again.

<So, working at the moment or taking break?>

Juggernaut has posed:
"I'm meetin' some folk near here in a minute so thought I'd stop by and see the place. I usually steer clear. Deadpools abit of a nuisance." remarks Juggernaut while toying with the empty kegger. He pinches it now with his enormous fingers and then suqeezes, crunching it instantly with a brief scrunching cry of metal being audible as he presses it tighter and tighter and balls it up into an enormous fist.

"I'm gonna be movin' along shortly but you've held my interest for abit, short-stuff..so I thought I'd see what you had to say for yourself.. Seem like you carry yourself pretty well."

He sets the balled up kegger on the counter infront of Berri as if giving her his autograph.

"What about you? Got somethin' lined up?"

Berri Sundae has posed:
A little nod, seems she'd met the jolly man in red who delivered bullets rather than presents before herself. At least, that's what the look of amusement on her youthful features suggested.

A little pause, her fingers dig into her jacket to retrieve a pen, other hand making to steal one of the nearby napkins.

<Enjoying some aftertime,> she types out before she makes to scribble her number for the contact phone on the paper and push it towards him.

Underneath, her handwriting offers a simple note:

~In case you find an interesting enough job you need a hand with.~ adorns the napkin along with her literal autograph.

Because how many other psychic pink-haired murder-pixies gave Cain their number looking for work?

Juggernaut has posed:
"Gotta know what you do before I risk havin' child protective services come after me y'know." remarks Juggernaut while picking up the napkin curiously and then eyeing the name. He'll be checking the database for this very soon.

"So what's your gimmick. Y'can guess at mine..."

He tucks the napkin away..somewhere. He doesn't exactly have visible pockets but one presumes that he's got a way to carry items. Magical brute and all.

"You actually super strong despite that pint sized look? That's popular these days. Never know if I'm gonna be trying to push past a guy that weighs a buck-fifty but can bench the Empire States Building or not. Tth. Kryptonians..."

Berri Sundae has posed:
If she knew the man's history, perhaps Berri might have kept to herself, or thought the better of things. But well...she wasn't immune to wanting to establish a little reputation and it was hardly worthwhile trying to give an air of danger and malice from the the girl to a guy who could tank a...well, tank shell.

Her head turns, her gaze to the bartender who's eyes go a little glazed and he wordlessly clears her drink, serving up another as he speaks.

"I've got plenty of training, I've tangled with some of the bats fine...but I'm pretty good at 'mind games'..." the giggle that follows from the man's lips seems very much unnatural before he blinks, turning back to his business and apparently unware of the fact he'd literally been used as a psychic mouthpiece a moment ago.

Juggernaut has posed:
"So yer a mind witch eh?"

Juggernaut's response is smooth and unperturbed sounding even if such things are perhaps among his most hated things out there. It's one of the few things that can 'stop him'.. 'I'm Unstoppable' being more catch phrase then an absolute given that there are a small handful of things that can and she happens to be sitting with one of them. A small petite thing that might have the power to take down one of the strongest beings on Earth. And beyond. If he were to allow it.

But she seems unware of his particular vulnerabilities or the method by which he retains his protection and she's forewarned him..so...

"Hmm..that'll make workin' together difficult. I don't like folk getting in my head.."

He grins and taps his forhead, eyes narrowing almost knowingly, "..And you've already tried..haven't you? Your type can't resist if you see something you think worth digging into..."

He finally shrugs a little and waves it all off, easy about it despite any potential risk to him down the road. "I'll think about it. Might have something coming down the pipeline.."

Berri Sundae has posed:
A little shrug, innocent enough, as if revealing she could manipulate the mind and affect the free will of another were a nothing thing. The question of if she'd tried already has the psychic simply continuing that blank-face blink. No answer, but that itself was probably an answer...although being mute probably helped a little deniability.

Still, his offer to think on it brings a nod, a raise of her newly recieved drink in thanks.

Juggernaut has posed:
"Playin' innocent eh? If you were you wouldn't be hangin' in a place like this. Pokin' around in heads is a survival tactic after all. Gotta know what you're dealin' with especially if you're lackin protection. Might have to do something about that if you come along with me. I cause abit of collateral damage after all.."

Juggernaut seems satisfied and he steps back. He never actually sat down given his gargantuan bulk would have crushed anything in here, even things able to support the like of other giants. Dudes too big.

"See y'round..Berri." he grins a little, replacing his helmet with a flash of red and then he turns and begins stalking heavily for the exit.