Summary:Hercules hasn't been on Earth in a while, but some things haven't changed… Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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New York! So much has changed since the last time the Lion of Olympus strode the streets of this sprawling metropolis. Oh, it was a city, but two hundred years changes a place, for good and ill. Well aware of the jarring shift he always suffers when returning to Earth, Hercules is taking some well-considered advice, and is in the library. Even here, he seems to generate a kind of gravity, standing in the history section — the canvas coat tossed carelessly across his shoulders can't hide his powerful build, as he patiently works his way through a primer on American history into the 20th century. No one really wants to bother him thus far — despite his odd dress, he's much too well kept for a hobo, and he hasn't caused any trouble.
Punk Rock Girl, that being Io, saunters into the library with more than a little disdain for the place as if she were one of the devil's consorts walking on hallowed ground. The bright-blue haired woman, one side of her hair long enough to cover her eye and hang down just past her chin and combed over while the side is close shaven sports off her plethora of tattoos and piercings from several in the ear and some small gagues there to an eyebrow, nose, and lip piercing. No doubt shehas others, too. The well-worn and faded 'Electric Sheep' t-shirt sags over her lean frame, and beneath the short black skirt is a pair of black shorts, one leg adorned with a striped thigh-high stocking, the other with a knee-high sock. A pair of heavy combat boots on her feet.
She looks around, briefly, as if searching for someone, or something.
Angela, meanwhile, is reading a book on Medieval European literature. Actively reading while walking, which is not necessarily the best idea… particularly when there's a literal Greek god standing in the aisle. Needless to say, she runs into Hercules and oofs, falling backwards and landing on her rear with a *thud*.
"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there!" She looks a bit abashed, glancing up towards Herc as she does, to Hercules anyway, sound like she's speaking Greek. A nice dialect from Athens circa 300 BCE, to be exact.
This happens sometimes. Usually Hercules is a lot better about avoiding such things but reading is not his strongest suit, and he has to take his time with it. Lowering the book he turns with that congenial smile on his face, ready to set whoever it is at ease and possibly pick them up off the floor.
But the words that come from the woman's mouth throw him off. Greek, the likes of which hasn't been spoken in centuries — millenia even, and Herc blinks in astonishment as he looks down at the redhead. His lips part, moving a moment, then he murmurs, "… /Athanasia/? How… by the gods, how long has it been?" He drops the book, and then reaches down to Angela, and he's NOT content with just helping her to her feet. Instead, he laughs, lifting her up into a bearhug before setting her down again. "It IS you, Athanasia!"
Spotting her 'prey', Io approaches a young man who clearly is a student of one of the local colleges. The girl glowers at him, "Asshole," she snarls at him, "You really called me down here for this?"
"It won't boot up," he says, "And I have a paper to finish that -has- to—"
But Io isn't interested, "Shut up," she cuts him off. Then, tenderly, she picks up the laptop, pausing to glower at the young man again, "You do realize you have to clean her, every now and then, don't you, asshole? Jesus." Her gaze switches back to the laptop, "Sorry, honey. He's an asshat. And a bag of dicks. Here. I got what you need."
She sets down her backpack, pulls out a cannister of air and sprays the bottom and side of the laptop, briefly, a fine plume of dust. "You were overheating Jenny. Do it again, and you won't see her. Ever again. Got it? Take care of her."
Then, she holds out her hand. "Fork over the burrito. And the $25." Both, petulantly but also gratefully, are given and handed over.
Then she exhales, taking first the burrito that's wrapped in foil, and then the money which she pockets. The burrito, she unwraps and takes a large bite out of, before her eyes catch Angela and Hercules, exhaling with a sigh at the display of overt affection.
Angela grins, and would say something, but she's getting the bearhug first. She says as she's set down, "Well, I'll be… Hercules, what are you doing here? I didn't think you were in town!" She arches a brow, tilting her head up at him, "It has been… well, a while, hasn't it?" She doesn't notice the burrito drama happening just yet…
Hercules hasn't noticed either. He's much too pleased to find a familiar face! Instead, he spreads his hands. "On the outs again. 'The gates of Olympus are shut to thee, and so on'." He furrows his brow. "Personally, I think they're just jealous. This is the /perfect/ time for me." He reaches down to a table to grab a newspaper, holding it up to show the headline: 'SHIELD And Mystery Supers Foil Bank Robbery In Midtown'. "A new age of heroes, Athanasia. It's a wonderful thing."
Angela grins, "Shut again? At this point, you should just get a place here in New York. I'm sure you could afford it." She chuckles, "But yes, I've been here in SoHo for a while now… I have a studio nearby, in point of fact." She pauses, then adds, "Oh, and Hercules, I go by Angela now. Angela Carpenter… but I don't mind Athanasia, at all." Her lips curl into a sly grin at that.
Io takes another healthy bite off the burrito, then she exhales through her nose. She gives a sideglance towards the two Greecians, shaking her head in some measure of disbelief that people would not only choose to hang out in a place with all these 'boring' books and read them, but also make it a social event.
She reaches into her backpack with her free hand, pulling out her cellphone and begins to just - well, look at it. "Mm," she says, mostly to herself. Her brown eyes flick back up to Angela, and Hercules.
Well, personally Herc would rather be in a gymnasium. Or a bar. But he DID promise to try and get 'the lay of the land' first before he caused any mischief. "Alright, Angela it is," he offers. "Though it's so strange to see you like this and not the potter in Athens." His lips quirk at her mention of a 'place'. "Aye, I checked my 'account'. I am thankfully flush with cash. Though I still have some coins from the old days." He looks thoughtful. "Angela, is there anything I absolutely /should/ know? I haven't been on Earth in almost 200 years, and sometimes even the historians and sages miss things."
Angela hmmms, "Well, there have been a couple of World Wars, Nazis make amusing noises when you kill them, and Flapper fashion is sadly outdated, but it shouldn't be." She smiles a little over at Hercules, "Hey, I still have a studio, but I've been blacksmithing lately. You might be surprised at the demand for weapons or armor these days. And hey, if you have cash, you should buy something from me." That comment is said with a grin, and she then glances over and spots Io, tilting her head towards the woman curiously.
Not having overheard any of the conversation, Io jerks her thumb back behind herself, then looks at Hercules, then Angela, and back to Hercules. "You one of those 'off the grid' millenial freaks?" She asks, as if it were a normal question that anyone might ask on the street. Which it most definitely isn't.
And now Herc's attention falls on Io, and it's almost a tangible thing. Those deep brown eyes regarding her, the same way a mountain might regard a sapling tree on its slopes. One brow arching as he considers the question, before shaking his head. "I'm afraid I don't know what 'off the grid' even means. But if it helps, I am Hercules of Thebes, returned here after much too long among my kin on Mount Olympus." He pauses, then inquires, "Are you an oracle? Oracles often speak with strange words, and dress and carry themselves oddly."
Angela, meanwhile, gives Io a smile, "He has been… ah, off the grid though, until recently. I'm Angela." And well, she's speaking English as far as Io is concerned, even though Hercules hears the Greek. She grins, "And millenial is… one way to describe me I suppose." Her eyes crinkle with amusement at some sort of hidden joke, and she adds for Hercules, "I don't think she is, though I do like the fashion sense."
"Oh. So you're a mountain man. Thought all you guys had really long scruffy beards," Io comments in a more general sense. It's clear neither the name of Hercules, the grand Greecian city, or the legendary mountain register even the dimmest sense of recognition with her. There are more immediate mountains she's thinking of - like the Appalachin Mountains.
"Hey." Io lifts her chin to Angela, "Io," she answers with her name and a shrug of slender shoulders. "Ain't no oracle, whatever that is. I'm a fixer."
Hercules realizes none of the names have registered, and gives Angela a slightly startled look. Mouthing 'mountain man' at her in confusion before turning his eyes back to Io. "A… fixer? A tradeswoman?" Clearly there's a bit of a language barrier, Allspeech or not. Then he catches up with the 'scruffy beards', and reflexively checks his; yep, still neatly groomed and trimmed. "Ah, no. A beard should be well kept and trimmed. Though I never got into the habit of waxing my mustache, that always seemed a bit much."
Angela grins, "Well, that was a trend a while, but we've gotten past that so you're safe big guy." She elbows Herc teasingly, then smiles over at Io, "Good to meet you… fixer, as in you fix things? Like an engineer?" She sounds a bit interested in that, if that is the case anyway.
"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner," Io touts to Angela. "If it's broken, I can fix it. Doesn't matter if it's a electric motorbike from 1910, a brand new cellphone, a Tesla sportscar, or your mom's fridge from thirty years ago." She says this matter-of-factly, "Got a thing with machines. Like, Jenny over there. That bag of dicks doesn't know how to treat a girl." Of course, there is no girl over there. There is the guy, and his laptop.
Hercules lifts his eyebrows. "I understood some of that. Though I don't see this Jenny around. But a … fixer might be useful to know." He hmms. "Can you be hired on retainer? I fully expect to break at least one electrical device at some point."
Angela chuckles, "Well, there you go, and you could definitely use the help… I mean, I'm still trying to figure out my smartphone." She smiles a bit, "And well, Hercules, that will definitely help you get up to speed on things. I mean, probably better than I would… though, we should definitely hit a bar, like old times." Her lips quirk in a crooked grin at that.
"Your girlfriend has my contact info. My fees go by how much of a jerk you are to your devices. Not by how hard it is to fix. Treat your shit right, and you won't have to call me, kapeche?" Io gives Hercules a warning glare, then shoves the rest of the burrito into her mouth and lifts her hand as if to say 'goodbye'.
Io, however, is true to her word. When Angela next checks her phone, the activity window will come up and show 'Io' and Io's contact number has somehow been programmed into it, and saved.
Hercules looks a bit puzzled, by both Io's somewhat grumpy demeanor and the reference to his 'girlfriend'. But he politely raises a hand by way of farewell to Io. "Swift travels." He glances over at Angela and remarks, sotto voce, "Is everyone in this era so… curt? She was like a centaur with a stone in his hoof."
Angela nods, "Yes, it's New York. Also, she thinks we're together. Romantically." She grins wryly, and gives Hercules a sizing-up expression, "I have to say… I've had worse." She winks at Hercules with that, looking quite amused at how the conversation went.
Io, for her part, begins to head off, grabbing her own phone out off the clip at her waist and starts to scan through it, not even bothering to look up as she heads out the exitway. Texting and walking? Not quite as dangerous as texting and driving, at least. But somehow she manages to evade from either bumping into people or smacking into doors.
Hercules shrugs, then Angela's words catch up to him again. He opens his mouth, then closes it with a slightly bashful grin. "Well, it's not like we're strangers. You didn't even believe who I was back in Athens till I moved that huge stone for you." Herc rakes a hand through his hair. "Let's go back to your place, Angela, and you can tell me what you've been up to the last two thousand years."
Angela grins, and slips her arm through the crook of Hercules' elbow, "Well, I suspected you were, and yes, we definitely can do some catching up." She smiles up towards Hercules, "Plus I can give you a primer on the past two hundred years too."