9047/Sentinels: The members of 'Team Awful'

Sentinels: The members of 'Team Awful'
Date of Scene:	02 September 2019
Location:	Library, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Steve and Hank discuss Dr. Weiss.
Cast of Characters:	Ant-Man (Pym), Captain America
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Dr. Pym's come out of his lab. Whatever those reasons are, he isn't wearing them on his sleeve: but he's physically far more available, and more approachable, than otherwise. It isn't like sending messages goes into a black hole like the ones sent to Tony during his Tower Time: Pym still reads his. His replies just aren't usually very welcoming.

In this case, he has agreed to go over some things with Captain Rogers, and is on time to chat with him at the pre-arranged spot in the library.

Hank is there with a laptop, comfortable but reserved in a corner spot at the back. He has a cup of coffee, and is dressed casually: at least for him, which means a light blue button down, slacks.

Captain America has posed:
"Hank." Quietly, the greeting carries across the library. The room itself is quiet, contained, scented faintly of Pym's coffee and the lighter note of many, many books. Despite the Internet, there is a prevailing belief in hard-bound knowledge in the mansion. Steve approaches with his own mug of coffee and a plate of what appears to be slices of bread of some sort. A sniff will prove it to be banana bread, fresh and glossy on its crust.

"Thanks for meeting with me." He sets the mug and plate down on a nearby table before he effortlessly pulls over a comfortable highback chair. A scoot of the table without spilling and now the Captain settles in. He's in jeans and a t-shirt, sneakers, looking as if he'd be off to run a simple grocery errand rather than discuss the darker nuances of science. "I wanted to ask you about the scientists you ran into when you were away." 'Away' equivocating 'kidnapped', in this case. "Specifically a Dr. Weiss." His eyes rest patiently on Hank.

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"Steve," Hank replies, echoing the greeting with a very similar tone. Meeting politeness with the same. There's no undertone that Hank can be prone to: which is a good sign, usually. Hank will probably be pretty tolerable, at least at first.

"I didn't know we had banana bread," Hank answers, looking at the plate with a thoughtful interest, but making no sign that he's trying to weasel any. He's too polite for that - unless it was, maybe, Janet that had it. Then all bets on politeness end.

Hank chuckles a little at the phrasing of 'ran into' and 'away'. "Sure," Hank says, picking up his coffee to have some of it, and then draws a hand to his laptop, lowering the screen. He doesn't need notes, and is giving Steve full attention. "There were five total, if you include me. Do you want to start with Weiss, then?"

Captain America has posed:
"Have some if you want, it's from the bakery nearby. Had a..."

No Steve, no name puns this morning.

"Thought I'd get some, since it was fresh yesterday. Goes great with the coffee," the man adds as he lifts up a slice to further impress upon Hank the wonder that is banana bread. It's golden on the inside, flecked with walnuts, and the shine on the crust must be a light layering of butter. Mmm-mmm, super-serum calories, ahoy.

"Yes, figure Weiss first." Solemnity passes over Steve's face and to the attentive, he's mulling over a thought. Surely the scientist across from him is wondering why Weiss in particular. "Weiss came up in a conversation with a fellow SHIELD agent. Might run into him sometime soon." Sure, it's oblique, but the subtle flick of Steve's brows as he sips his coffee implies secrecy is preferred though not paramount.

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"If you want to go after him, I'm all for it. He's a sadistic little weasel," Hank says, pulling no punches. "There'd been rumors about Dr. Eli Weiss for years. I was aware of him, peripherally. His papers and experiments had a focus on cybernetics. I've read a few of them. They're bland, uninspired. It's quite obviously a cover to anyone that actually knows the subject matter. That, and, he's worked for a variety of nasty groups, and with a few other 'doctors' I know of that have been arrested for human experimentation. Dr. Jaloza, for example."

Hank settles in more. "So, some of the scientists of the group were being leveraged to do the work. Dr. Walker's son was threatened. They attempted to use a clone Janet to influence me. They used Dr. Weiss's wife against him, probably was a clone as well, I didn't see her; Walker told me about it later. Amanda Weiss, I think. US Senator, Amanda Weiss. Dr. Sandhu and Dr. Octavius clearly were just being paid well."

"So you'd probably think Weiss was a good guy, getting pressured. That wasn't my take on him. They just misread him," Hank says.

Captain America has posed:
It doesn't take as much force on display to chew banana bread, but the parallels between HYDRA operations then and now for the Captain bring up his cheekbones in tension. Memories of the fiasco with Janet's clone have him swallowing carefully and looking aside before he kills half of his coffee in one sitting. What a twisted line of connection between himself and Hank, the wee fashionista and her uncanny twin.

Still, he nods. "I agree -- about misreading him. The SHIELD agent I'm in contact with was on-site for the apprehension of Jaloza. There was no pressuring involved. Wouldn't be surprised to find out he gave the go-ahead for the clone of his wife personally." The Captain's tone might be mild and polite, but there's an undercurrent in it to make fine hairs rise. A sigh. "I'll be a part of a unit infiltrating a site said to be hosting Dr. Weiss, potentially further experiments. Any idea what we might run into?"

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"No, that wasn't what I think happened. I can give you my educated guess, which I have reasonable evidence for, but I can't prove this," Hank says, in his very science-minded way. He waits a pause to check to see if Steve is interested -- Hank doesn't just talk for the sake of talking if the audience isn't attentive -- then continues.

"I think Dr. Weiss was /not/ there willingly at first. His was a pride issue: he wanted to have been /asked/, not kidnapped. I don't want you to tense up, but he reeked of an organization like HYDRA," Pym says, finally. "As if he were insulted to be taken from his important world-domination work." With a snort and roll of eyes, Hank shrugs a little. "I think the project bored him at first, and he was insulted by my arrival."

Dr. Pym's amusement is easy to read. He likes that he bothered Weiss. "But they had failed to execute the boot operations on Project 1 -- 'Sebastion'-- until I came. After that, though, Weiss woke up: Project 1 clearly had a lot of advances in Cybernetics in his programming. Dr. Weiss wanted all of that. I enjoyed blocking him, I admit."

Captain America has posed:
Too bad, Steve tenses up; one can see it in the line of his shoulders and narrowing of eyes. Pym's certainly not the target for the hot spike of temper, and as such, the snap in the true-blue eyes lessens in lumens as the super-soldier slowly cycles a breath.

"God save us from scientists with hubris grounded in boredom..." the Captain mutters to himself regardless. He then speaks up more conversationally. "Be thrilled to get him behind bars. So you think we'll be seeing more...cybernetic experiments." It seems the confirmation will be taken like a shot of rotgut if it must be.

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"I'd count on it. Weiss wanted Project 1 for himself, I'd say. I think his attempts to steal the project caused a lot of trouble for Trask. There was talk about shipping it over being delayed: and since I read later in your reports about the mercenary element there, well. I think that was all Weiss." Dr. Pym sighs a little at Steve's question.

"I feel like you don't want me to confirm that, but yes. I'd expect some monstrous things. In particular, inspired by 'Sebastion', which would suggest improved scanning and targeting."

"Weiss and Dr. Walker disappeared at the same time. I think he's got her," Pym says, suddenly shifting gears, and his emotions clearly move. He's upset, and can't hide it. "She's one of us, not them."

Captain America has posed:
Those malleable wheat-gold brows meet. He's long since done with his slice of banana bread and his coffee mug is now empty. Alas. "We'll bring Dr. Walker home if we find her, Hank. Anybody else we can as well. I doubt anybody volunteered for improved scanning and targeting." Deep loathing shows in his timbre. He shifts in his seat and in a rare show of true dismay, rubs at half of his face. The hand ends up splayed across his eyes for a second before Steve appears again wearing his mask of composure once more.

"Wondered if HYDRA had a hand in the attempt to kill Sebastion off the bat... Can't say I'm not going to enjoy handing out some corrections." A slow shake of his head isn't directed at Hank, moreso at the situation as a whole. "Anything else you can think I can provide as intel?"

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"I doubt he's working with Trask directly, but he could be contracting or something, now. As I said, he's a weasel, he'll twist anything. He'll lie to your face, too, so beware of that if you encounter him. He's got his own cybernetics, hidden, so you'll probably want to gas him instead of listening to a supervillain monologue. He's the kind to distract you with talk while his guns charge up." Dr. Pym makes a disgusted face at that.

"Wendy - Dr. Walker - I don't know what form you'll find her in. But there's no point in speculation about the worst," Hank says. "Dr. Sandhu is still with SHIELD, I think, and Dr. Octavius with Trask, far as I last knew. Both of them were sucking the money teat from Trask."

Captain America has posed:
Steve nods, his thoughts drifting wry. "I remember Colonel Phillips and his requisitions. I was expensive enough." A finger placed upon the plate's rim lingers before he takes another slice of banana bread and then pushes it towards Hank, silently offering for the scientist to enjoy one if he's so inclined. "Sounds simple enough. Break in, knock down the guards, gas the guy with the god complex, drag him out 'nd put him behind bars. What could go wrong." The Captain gives Hank a dry look before he bites into his piece of banana bread.

A few chews and then he asks, around his mouthful, "How're you holding up, Hank? You look like you're sleeping better."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Hank looks at the bread with an expression that really could go either way: Hank can be suddenly moody about strange things, or take things the wrong way - like that Steve could be suggesting he's unhealthy and needs to eat. Pym nods, though, with a reserved polite quality, and reaches out to accept the bread, sampling it.

"Where'd the tip from this come from? You're sure it's not a trap?" Pym asks shrewdly.

"I'm all right. The new healer from medical gave me a little boost. Not all of us have super serum," Pym chuckles, eating the bread methodically.

Captain America has posed:
Steve lets his gaze run over Hank once more, without judgment, simply ascertaining for himself whether or not the healer did anything dramatic. It doesn't appear to be so. "He's good people, Foley. Got a good eye for just the right amount of medication necessary 'nd nothing more. Spares some of us our pride." A flick of brows and the momentary light amusement fades.

"It could be a trap," he admits, " -- but...how to put it." His gaze slides to one side. "It doesn't behoove the one who called in the tip to get us all killed. We'd be better off left alive, 'nd that's not my so-called 'die-hard optimism' speaking."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
Hank shrugs a little bit, "His ability could be extremely useful. I used the opportunity to take extensive scans of what he can do," Hank answers. See, it wasn't him being helped, but getting scans of the healer mutant. That's what it is. Pride. -- and possibly true, since Hank didn't feel overly horrible.

"I don't think you asked about my health as an invitation to come along," Hank says, with a sly smile, "You're usually more direct with me than that." He weaves his fingers together in his lap, bread finished. "And I'm not offering," teases the scientist. "But /do/ leave me with some information about it, so that I can return the favor of recent rescue, should it come up."

Captain America has posed:
Hank gets a level look from his fellow conversationalist, complete with silently disbelieving eyebrows lifted high, at hearing about the scans taken between-the-lines during his brief stint in the medbay. Still: Steve's not that surprised, not since interacting with the scientist more regularly since his retrieval. No commentary is made. Pride recognizes pride well enough.

"Oh, you think you're gonna rescue //me//," the Captain shoots back, a smile ghosting around the edges of his lips. "Look, I might jump out of planes without a parachute to yank chains, but 'm still alive for a good reason." Regardless, he lifts a hand, having also finished his piece of bread. "You'll be on my comm 'nd I'll contact you if SHIELD can't manage exfil. If they can't, well..."

Steve blows a sigh. "Not the first time I've come out of something bloodied up 'nd still able to break a knuckle on somebody's face."

Ant-Man (Pym) has posed:
"That you aren't aware of the sheer volume of rescues and infiltrations I have done is testament to how good at it I am," teases Hank a little bit, but then laughs. "Or Janet is," he admits. There's a little window of some strange emotion in there: perhaps not about Janet, but more the loss of what that team was, long ago. He doesn't dwell, fortunately, but picks up his coffee and smirks.

"Just be ready for the /real/ mission against the Sentinels," Hank says. He shakes his head, and starts to open his laptop.

Captain America has posed:
"Well, now you've got me curious. Got some free time, I'd better go dig around in SHIELD's files about your dossier of exfil operations," the Captain replies with a bigger smile, still good-natured. He notes the shift in attention to the laptop and recognizes well enough how he has garnered all of the information possible from the scientist. Hank wouldn't pull away otherwise, not with the huge amount of venomous interest in cleaning up the Sentinel mess and anything associated with it.

The empty coffee mug comes with him as he rises. The plate, with another piece of banana bread, is left for Hank. "Think I'm about as ready as I can be." A half-smile is given to the scientist. "We'll be in contact," he confirms. Then, the blond super-soldier leaves Hank to his devices -- literally, in the case of his laptop.