Summary:Natasha gets back to Avengers Mansion after some SHIELD outings, Tigra updates the team about a certain Cartel they should go visit. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Being mostly preoccupied with SHIELD Ops lately, Nat hasn't been around the Mansion as much, though now she's finally walked in. But before going any deeper and run into any unexpected drama, she took a moment to catch up. Sitting on the couch by the table in a corner of the room, she's holding a tablet in her hand and running about the latest communications and events.
"Oh will you look at that, the hole Thor made to the Mansion was fixed, awesome," Nat muses to herself with a quiet chuckle.
*
"It's a lot less drafy, I'll give you that." This, holding a smile in tone, precedes Steve into the den, comfortable with its scattering of couches and tables, televisions and gaming systems. "Good to see you around, Nat. I'd ask what you've been up to, but I suppose I can go poke around files if I really want to know." He's got some mail he's sorting through as he plops down into a nearby armchair. It's casual Thursday, apparently, for he's in black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt beneath the navy-blue zip-up sweatshirt.
"This one's for you," and he flicks it towards her like a playing card. It's a small thing, looks like a thank you note more than anything else, and the handwriting is rather childish. Maybe a young admirer?
*
Looking a touch preoccupied, Tigra steps into the area, tail giving a steady sway behind her, intending to just be passing through. She looks up at sensing others present, though, and offers a smile and wave of greeting. "Wonder if he used a Craftsman hammer to do that," she says of Thor.
*
Thor's late to the party, trotting down the stairs with a thunderous ease (and noise). While his hearing is phenomenal, he has to be paying atteiton. So he will only have the last of that to reply to. "Someone used a hammer?" Thor inquires, loud enough to carry through the hallway as he appears. Thor is dressed in full Midgard attire, in a way that actually might blend in somewhat if he went outside. Except for the upbeat smile and usual boisterous charisma, which he's wearing like a banner at the moment, that is.
"Is there a meeting?" Thor asks suddenly, taking in the number of Avengers, and anticipating there could be some gathering that he SHOULD have known about, and clearly doesn't.
*
"I take it while I was away you managed to explain to the Mighty God how to use the door?" Nat quips at Steve with an amused smile. "At least the ones with the right classification levels," Nat teases, they've had their fair share of encounters where Cap may have learned there was more to a Mansion than he anticipated, in the past at least, SHIELD would never do that again. Would they?
"Oh, I thought I never get fanmail," Nat muses as she looks over the envelope, always suspicious at first, before she humors a chance to read it.
"If I had to wager, I'd say he used on godly power or other to get it down with as little work possible, just a guess," Nat offers to Tigra, as she keeps looking at that card she got.
"So…did any of you guys know there was huge reward offers for Spider-Man's head, and that the NYPD is apparently in on it? Well, some of the officers at least?" There's an update she could offer, based on a recent adventure.
"Amazing," Nat remarks dryly, "it's like saying 'hammer' summons the guy, what's up Thor? Any trouble in God Land?"
*
*
"Miss Tigra." The woman gets a friendly smile from Steve in his chair before he goes back to rifling through the envelopes. Surprisingly, there are some bills — even the superheroes don't get a perfect break. Thor's arrival has the Captain looking up again.
"No meeting, Thor, just happy happenstance. Peace and quiet…relatively speaking and for what it's worth," he adds drily before decided to put all the correspondence in one pile and business in the other. "Something could crop up at any time, knowing our luck. Though, yes, Nat, I'd heard of this bounty. Dunno about its veracity." It has Steve frowning. "Never seen the young man do anything worthy of it."
*
"I'd say that's cheating, but in his shoes I'd do the same thing, after lacing them up pretty tightly" Tigra says, before tilting her head. "And speaking of his shoes," she says as he thunders into the room. "Take it from me," she tells the Widow, "There's good cops and there's bad cops." She looks visibly disappointed when Cap lets Thor off the hook about a meeting, having quickly spun up a story to justify their assembly before scolding him for being late, and now not being able to use it."
*
"Trouble? Small amounts, unrelated to my heritage, however. Our new member, the Beetle of the Blue, has had some trouble I know of. There is a report." The way Thor refers to the report suggests he may not have read it, but does know /about/ it. The report exists. "I understand it contains technological scarab creatures which may also link into magic." The description doesn't, clearly, thrill Thor by any means. "But perhaps a foe will surface soon." The last buoys Thor's spirits: something to actually smash could be welcome, instead of strange discussions on bugs.
Thor continues into the room, slowing to finally stop to one side, hands resting against pockets of his jacket, though not in them. "I grow restless here," Thor admits. "Though I would not speak ill of peace and quiet, in moderation."
*
*
"Adorable…I actually did get a fan mail," Nat waves the card with the childish handwriting she got, "apparently if I only wish it, I can marry Brandon Gallagher, he just turned 10 and he thinks I'm 'very cool'." She turns to look at Steve with a quizzical tilt of her head, "what do you say, Steve, should I take him on his offer before Suzy from 5th grade snatches him?"
"Oh it's full on BS, Steve, it's a get out of jail card for crocks calling out Spider-Man's name, I helped him a while back, got the NYPD off his back. Did I mention playing 'Who Has Jurisdiction' with a bunch of assholes isn't fun?" Nat clearly has her opinions of the matter, even if she doesn't elaborate further. She shrugs at Tigra's suggestion that there are good cops, sure, they must be out there. Just so happens that Nat hasn't run into them the over the last couple of weeks.
"The Beetle of The Blue? Is he any better than the Beetle of The Red?" Nat asks curiously, albeit anyone could tell by the tone of her voice, she wasn't honestly expecting an answer to that one. "Hey, if you wanna go a round of sparring, I'll indulge you, Thor, just…no hammers, ok?"
*
"I believe you," the Captain replies mildly and with a dimpled grin to the Widow. "I've met the kid. He's good people…and yes, I love that game," he adds with an appropriate level of wry dislike for battling over the rights and wrong of questionable law. "Let Brandon down easy." A sage nod and he's now done sorting the mail. The stack of fan mail is thankfully taller than that of the bills.
"Ted seems like a solid guy." His attention shifts to Thor now. "I'm glad you could help him." A letter is held out towards the Asgardian and one too for Tigra, the extension of Steve's arms at wide angles. "You should compare nacho recipes. He's got a knack for them," the man adds with a laugh.
*
Tigra takes the letter with a lifted eyebrow of surprise. She looks it over quickly and then starts opening it with a claw tip. "If you're getting antsy, Thor, I'll see if I can call on you for some help," Tigra says, thoughtfully at first, and then with a bit of a predatory grin. "Yeah, I think you could be real useful." A look at the others, and the predatory grin turns into something that's a mix of pride, affection, and possessiveness. "Any of you for that matter. I'm trying to find a missing girl, and there's a street gang that might be involved that's got connections to a Columbian cartel. I doubt a street gang will give me much trouble," she says with the confidence of a cat, "but there's something to be said for being overwhelming. Especially when it comes to getting information out of them."
*
"I know not how he compares," Thor answers Natasha with complete and honest deadpan. "I am barely familiar with either beetle." Distractedly, Thor accepts the letter from Steve, turning it and immediately starting to carefully open it, curious about what he was given.
"I am glad to assist you, Tigra, should you need to impress upon others a sense of the gravity of your point," Thor nods to her, slowly. "Though not always. I am not to be used lightly," he chuckles, with a slight tease in his tone. Until he opens the letter. "It is of me! What a cheerful drawing," Thor says, charmed, flipping it to show everyone. It is a somewhat bloody drawing of a stick-man with a hammer defeating foes, their heads in various locations on the page.
"And it is surely not a forecast of our sparring to come," Thor assures Natasha.
*
*
Nat grins as Steve plays along, and she actually folds the card to place in a side pocket of her pants. It was a cute gesture after all. "Nacho recepie? Can you actually refer to Nacho as a dish? Seems like an assortment of stuff you toss in a bowl when you're too lazy to cook," Nat gives her two cents.
Putting the tablet aside, now that she's done catching up, Nat reclines in her seat and goes as far as resting her feet on the table. Surely Steve could let that much slide. "Care to share more intel about the girl, Tigra? I think a Columbian Cartel could do with a visit from the God of Thunder." Nat turns to give Thor a 'look' as he tells Tigra he is not to be used lightly, "Thor, you come raining down with a freakin' hammer, nothing light about you."
"So…you're up for that sparr then?" Nat asks, not sounding entirely committed, as she suggests, "there's always time for that, you could just catch up on that nacho recepie if you like."*
*
"Nice use of color." Steve grins at the drawing shown to all of Thor doing his best smashing. He falls silent after, looking between the Avengers present with a small smile of his own. Tigra's report, however, is more than enough to melt the furtive curl of lips away again.
"I think a visit from two Avengers would be a point well-made. Strength in numbers in a showing if it's you as well," he nods between Natasha and Thor, indicating either. "Nobody's gonna keep much behind their teeth with a display like any of us can be put on. Let's hear more intel though, Tigra, please," he adds, turning his keen blue gaze to the striped woman.
*
"Well of course not lightly," Tigra says to Thor. "You must weight, what, at least 240? All muscle of course," she says with an approving look. There's a flick to her tail that suggests the point behind his tease was received, though. Letting the levity last a moment longer she reads from her letter, "Tigra, Tigra, burning bright, in the forests of the night." She folds it back up for the moment, though. "Gretchen Jacobs is the girl's name, apparently taken at a supermarket. Family seems above board, as close to a house and picket fence as you can get in the city. Right now her parents aren't suspects in her disappearance. I got their address from a detective in the NYPD and went to talk to them. They're worried sick, of course, but they let me have a look around. Most important thing for me was that I was able to get her scent, and followed it through part of the city. Trail ended in a part of town claimed by the Denim Crows, that's the street gang. Went back to talk to the detective, didn't want to go in blind, and that's when I learned there's some ties between them and El Clan del Golfo, a cartel in Columbia that apparently traffics in drugs, and people," she says grimly.
*
"Natasha is correct, there is no recipe, it is based on instinct," Thor replies, with an encouraging smile given to Natasha. He isn't offended: hardly, it is as if he's being complimented on his instinct abilities when it comes to cooking. He'll take that positively. However, the repeated comments about the hammer have turned his mood a little bit: whenever it's mentioned, there's a wince in Thor's demeanor. Something must be going on connected to Mjolnir, and it isn't like Thor hides his emotions.
"Primarily muscle, yes," Thor grants to Tigra, orienting to look down over his frame once, confirming it in his own memory as well, perhaps. "Though I am also not lacking in strong bone or tendon."
Thor quiets to listen to the tale from Tigra. Or perhaps just to watch Steve listen to the tale. He seems, at least, attentive, frowning some, and folds up his fan mail to set the picture aside back on the stack. "You believe this girl was sold?" Thor asks, tone dark. He shakes his head more, dismay apparent. "I will prepare to go free her," Thor says suddenly, and abruptly starts to leave the room, headed back to the stairs. Evidently he expects that they will go free the girl right away.
*
*
"Scent makes for a fine lead with you on board, Tigra," Nat seems to like the odds better given that tidbit from Tigra. "So Denim Crows, huh?" A slight eye roll follows at the named Cartel group, "El Clan del Golfo? Huh?" She turns to look towards Thor, "I'd say that's about as Hammer Time as it gets, no?" She raises her hand next, "when we go out to bring her back, I'd love to be there to kick them in the balls. It's the least I can do."
*
"Count me in as well." This from Steve still seated in his sofa-chair, but now on its edge. "Happy to lend a hand, especially where a kid's concerned. It takes some serious low-life scum to get involved in something like that." The slow shake of his head is disappointment incarnate.
"We'll gather numbers and information before we head out to deal with 'em. Tigra, if you could list what intel you have for us to review before we leave, that would be best. Natasha, if you recognize any names, let us know. Thor and I will compare notes as well. They'll never know what hit 'em." A firm nod.
*
Pretending not to notice Thor's edginess with his hammer, Tigra instead grins at his readiness. "That's the names I got," she confirms for Natasha. "I'll write everything up in a brief for everyone and get it to you, and then we can go make some very bad people pay."
*
"I'll go see what I can find about those bad guys," Natasha notes as she gets up, and points at Thor, "we'll have to postpone that sparring, I'm going to have to do a bit of research, these guys are going to wish they hadn't thought about kidnapping little girls." With that she walks further into the Mansion, specifically towards the computer lab.
*