15089/News of the Weird

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News of the Weird
Date of Scene: 08 May 2023
Location: Skye's Brownstone, Greenwich Village
Synopsis: Nick dons his consultant hat and has a discussion with Skye about a Brooding problem.
Cast of Characters: Quake, Phantasm (Drago)




Quake has posed:
It's a usual day. Which means Skye slept till noon - but she was up reading the dark web till all hours of the day. It evened out in the long run. Fury didn't care what hours she put in in general, as long as she put her whole number of hours in the week, plus was available at short notice. She preferred later nights. If possible.

Today, she was working at home. Which actually means she put extra hours in. At the Trisk they had HR personnel who frowned at the agents who did not follow the rules.

Skye was one of them.

A big cup of coffee (stone cold, by inattention, not on purpose) was on the coffee table. And she, herself, was on the couch flipping through piles of pages on the net. Nick was coming over, but that would be.. half an hour? Plenty of time to wander around the net..
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
But lo! Beware the siren song of 'plenty of time to do this' coming upon one's thoughts. This just asks for disappointment as one realizes that when pulled into a task, half an hour is not long at all. But as he appears inside the brownstone, he lingers near the front door. In one hand a drink carrier carrying various cups. The other hand lifts and knocks on the door, sort of giving Skye a heads up that he's here. And considering the antics of other couples he's encountered over the years, possibly a warning to make sure the occupants are properly dressed for company.
Quake has posed:
Alas, Skye wasn't quite in a relationship. It was complicated. Clint needed some time to himself (again), and frankly Skye wasn't looking for someone to replace him at this moment. (Mind you, the fates sometimes took it as a challenge.. but we digress..)

She had settled in for her quick peek, when Nick (at least she hoped it was Nick!) rapped on the front door.

"Come in. The door is open! I'm in the living room." Which was the main room beside the front hallway. Oh, jeeze, did she have snacks, or worse, a meal to offer Nick?? When did she last go out and buy groceries? (She didn't count cat food. Everyone knows that cats were particular about their food, and demanded it on time!) "Uhm.." She looked around. Dammit. Even the chips were stale.
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
For obvious reasons, there's no sound of the door opening or closing to reward Skye for her invite in to the home. But he does move out to where she can see him. His attire is not much different than what Skye may be accustomed to. The clothes, still secondhand. The hair is pulled back but at least with the summer months in play, the knit cap has been replaced with a ballcap.

But what could arguably be the most notable accessory to Nick's current look is the carrier containing three cups of coffee.

Nick moves over to the kitchen counter to set it down, pulling out two of them. "I got coffee. I wasn't sure if Clint was in or not so I grabbed an extra just in case." Turning, he walks over towards Skye to offer her one.
Quake has posed:
"I have one.." And then she looks at her coffee. Stone cold. "I did have one. Thanks! I get so wound up in my job - I forget pretty much anything else. Except the cats. Tried working during their feeding times? Never again." Grant had chewed off her cords for recharging - all of them. Even the ones for the phone. Not to mention the little 'gifties' the cats had deposited throughout the apartment.

"As for Clint? Your guess is as good as mine. We haven't been talking much lately, about anything. He's back at his Clinton Heights apartment. How are you?"
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick holds back on handing the coffee over as Skye gives her momentary bit of protest, but upon her confirming the nature of the drink beast, he gives a wry smile. "...I had a feeling. I get like that with some things as well."

He hands the cup back over before sitting down in another free seat. He looks to his coffee for a moment as he considers the news about Clint. "I... probably know less about what's going on with him than you. I haven't heard from him in awhile either. Nature of your jobs I guess."

He sips his coffee before he reflects on the question. "Well...After that stuff in Kentucky, I'm getting settled back into the apartment. I'm, slowly getting back into the work routine. Talking with Wade a bit more in person, picking back up on my training. Did some session work... Still need to branch back out to live performances.

Nick pauses to take a sip of his coffee before lowering the cup. "Met a few interesting people. Which, leads to my call earlier."
Quake has posed:
Skye takes the coffee gladly. "Well, when Clint still lived here, it was a bit easier. He'd stay up and play his video games, or fix his bows. And when he was tired I generally followed him to bed. I mean, sure, I stayed up late, but if I didn't want him to see me in the morning never having gone to bed? He made certain I ate too. Another habit that has fallen by the wayside. I know, bad Skye. But in my defence, I can't cook for love or money."

Taking her coffee into the living, she nods. "You will find in a matter of weeks? Months? You'll be back to your old self." It's the nature of life.

When Nick mentions 'interesting' people, her eyebrows lifted in a quirk. "You do know what happened the last time you met interesting people, don't you? What can I do for you?" The price of the coffee suddenly makes more sense.
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The brow quirk gets a bit of a chuckle in return as he nods. "Well, meeting interesting people is going be a given considering my nature. But this pair, seems to have stumbled onto something where it might be mutually beneficial to coordinate with others."

The cup of coffee shifts in Nick's hands. Perhaps the purchase of the drink wasn't simply for consumption but also to give his hands a task to do as he figures out the best approach to the topic. "I know that Cap and Bucky are aware of them so I assume you do too but- Are you familiar with the Brood?"
Quake has posed:
"I know, I know - look who's talking. At least until now all the weird ones that I met were on the net." Which seems to be a thing of the past. Weirdos. Interesting ones. People that made her take a second look - beyond the job. What has Skye wandered into these days that 'the net' was in the past?

Skye sits crossleggedly on the couch. "Sooooome.. I mean with a name like the Brood, you can assume much about them. You know cockroaches to the n'th degree, and a base intellect? How am I doing?" Of course she didn't say not to fill in the holes in her assumptions.
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick gives a nod, but gives a slight grimace "Yes...annnd no at the same time. But, an aspect about them is that a victim could be, infected, by them to produce another. Prior to running to them the only issues I knew about were FAR away from here. But the two people I'm referencing have encountered them here. They're not infected but one of them has managed to catch a few of them. And right now there's a concern there might be more of them out there."
Quake has posed:
The grimace is echoed by Skye. "Fuck. So much worse. Being that they're here, and that people can somehow be infected. And someone has got some? Like, who does that anyways? Are they crazy?"

Then she remembers..

"Not the interesting folk you were talking about?"
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick tilts his head, giving a bit of a shrug to the state of their mental being. "Well. From what I understand, only the queen can do the infecting and the only queen that got found was killed. One of those interesting individuals is a scientist and found a means to track down those who encountered that queen and they haven't fully turned yet. They're currently doing what they can to slow the victims from turning fully into Brood and trying to find a way to reverse the process.

He glances over to Skye, "There was a concern that bringing this up to S.H.I.E.L.D. would result in the patients being killed without giving them a chance. If you're wondering why."
Quake has posed:
Skye sits back, and thinks about what she had been told. And then she lets go of her breath in a slow, steady, exhale. "Then.. why? Why did you tell me?"
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick does not mirror Skye's movements and instead remains as he is positioned. Near the edge of the seat, leaning slightly forward, with his hands holding the cup. "That is the scientist's concern." He clarifies. "I believe the decision to allow me to speak with one of you is a reluctant one. I'm kind of walking a fine line here. The brood are nasty things, and no one wants them to get a foothold here. And if there is a nest already, they're going to need help with taking it out- but if there's a chance to reverse the effects for the victims who haven't fully turned then there's going to be need to accommodate for that within reason. That means making assurances that they will be given a chance for treatment. And possibly help with managing them if there's a sufficient amount to work through."

He sips his drink, "As for coming to you. Well, you have a better idea than me of what S.H.I.E.L.D. is capable of. And, you might have a good idea of how to present this information in a way where this works out for all parties involved."

A thumb rubs along the rim of the coffee cup lid, "Ideally I'd like to know for certain that if this did go any further if we could assure the victims had a chance."
Quake has posed:
Yeah, Skye did. More than anyone else, she understood what SHIELD would do in a case like this. Especially if it was pertinent to SHIELD members. Or in her case, long before she was an agent.

Nick had played his card well.

"You realize what kind of position you put me in, correct?" For a member of SHIELD's agents, it was debatable if there was anyone that had more secrets about her life, and SHIELD in general. Either Nick was lucky, or he had a suspicion. Either way, he might have found the exact member to tell, and keep it semi-secret until they were forced to go one way or the other.

"Let me guess. Tell Fury, but not the whole team. At least to begin with?" And to heck with telling everyone at SHIELD. This one smacked of keeping it quiet.
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well, it's a position you more or less volunteered for when you discussed the potential of me consulting." Nick points out, giving a small smile. "Here I am. Consulting."

Nick nods to Skye's suggestion. "Fury does seem like the one to talk to. I'm okay with you bringing Cap, Bucky, or Clint in on matters if need be. I trust them to do the right thing. But, yeah. Definitely not a 'on full blast' type of scenario."
Quake has posed:
Skye makes a face. "Sure blame it all on me, why don't you." Though she nods very solemnly in the end, "Let me take it up the ladder so to speak. I'll know if you can have a team, or most likely a few individuals to work with you. Okay?"
Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, "Sounds good. In the mean time I'm going to be doing what I can to help them." with matters pretty much discussed, he shifts to his feet. "This is not something that should be neglected." He glances back over to Skye, "Call me when you know, either way?"