3/11 Instance: Kitchen Incursion

[Svartfreja]

Morning after [Instance]Boozy Secrets.


<Hope> There was a high ranking SHIELD agent on her couch. Hope leaned in the doorway with her bowl of Cheerios, taking a bite and staring Carol down. Why was she here? She crunched her cereal and thought about it. If Tony had gone back on his word, she might kill him. At least then she'd get to join Shinobi in jail, right?

<Carol> The sound pulled Carol slowly out of her sleep and she grumbled a little, lifting her face out of the sofa cushions and turning it toward the noise. She blinked confusedly back as her eyes focused on Hope. Why was she being stared at? "... Can I help you?"

<Hope> Hope took another bite, watching Carol very warily for a moment before she spoke. "I feel like I should be asking you that question."

<Carol> Had she talked to Sebastian? She propped herself up on an elbow, "Well maybe you can..."

<Hope> That paused her, spoon halfway to her mouth. "I'm not telling Shinobi Tony changed his mind if that's why you're here."

<Carol> Carol fixed her with another confused look. She needed coffee. "Is there coffee?"

<Hope> "There's always coffee. I think I'm still allowed to make coffee...." She thought about that for a moment, then shrugged and took another bite.

<Carol> "... Allowed? Since when do you care if you're allowed?" She pushed a hand through her hair and sat up, eyes landing on the inhibitor cuff on the coffee table. She reached to pick it up.

<Hope> "Since I nearly burned the house down?" She watched Carol, taking another bite of her cereal. "So... what help is it you need?"

<Carol> Carol stuffed the inhibitor in a pocket as she stood up and stretched, "You seen Sebastian today?"

<Hope> "Don't dodge my question."

<Carol> "I'm not dodging, it's relevant." Coffee. She headed toward the kitchen across the hall.

<Hope> "No I haven't seen him." She took another bite.

<Carol> "Then it can wait til after I've had coffee," she threw Hope a smile over her shoulder. "What's this about you burning the house down? On purpose?"

<Hope> Hope rolled her eyes. "Yes. Because somebody wouldn't answer my questions." She smirked.

<Carol> She laughed, "I will! Just not yet... there's stuff." She wrinkled her nose, "And I'm not caffeinated."

<Hope> "No because if I have to take you down I'd rather do it before you have had your coffee and Wheaties. Are you here for him? I saw the inhibitor." She took another bite, chewing carefully.

<Carol> Carol stared at her for a long moment while her brain tried to work out what she was talking about. "No, I have no idea..." she went to a wall socket and stuck a finger in, the lighting flickered a little but she felt much better now. "The inhibitor has nothing to do with why I'm here.... well a little bit because normally I'd wait until a reasonable hour of the day..."

<Hope> "Then let's get you coffee." She blinked and led the way to the kitchen.

<Carol> "I got here some time this morning... not sure on the exact time but I know it was late... early... whatever." She waved it off, "May have been drinking a little bit, hence..." she patted the pocket the inhibitor had gone back into then looked down at her feet. "I left my boots somewhere..."

<Hope> "I see that," she commented, continuing to the kitchen. Carol was... not Carol. "You alright, Carol? I mean really." She paused to look her over.

<Carol> Carol nodded, more out of habit than anything, and looked at Hope again, "I'm fine," she offered a smile. "Just a little hungover I guess..." and hoping that she bought that excuse.

<Hope> Hope blinked at her. "Uh huh... so am I."

<Carol> Carol decided a change of subject was due, "... Can I borrow your phone?"

<Hope> "I like this phone... who do you need to call?" She was so not frying this phone. She continued on her way to the kitchen.

<Carol> "Don't need to make a call... just text Cessily and tell her where I am? Please?" She was pretty sure there would come a time when Cess would get bored of scouring the building for her every day.

<Hope> "Yeah sure." Hope set her cereal down on the table as soon as she reached the kitchen and pulled out her phone, texting Cessily.

<Carol> Carol made a b-line for the coffee, "Thanks...." she started on filling the coffee machine and cast around for another conversation topic to fill the silence and avoid awkward questions, "How's your new bodyguard working out?"

<Hope> "David? He's fine. Kind of grumpy. Do you have any happy pills we can slip him?" She asked, smirking and sitting down to finish her breakfast. "He upped my training."

<Carol> "They wouldn't work on him, he's immune to happy when he's working." She paused and considered that, "Well unless he's punching badguys... then he's pretty happy." She leaned against the counter while she waited for the coffee machine to work its magic. "More training? That's a good sign."

<Hope> "I guess punching badguys is pretty scarce these days, so he's punching me," she laughed.

<Carol> "I'm sure that's someone's dream job," she offered.

<Hope> "Several people," Hope admitted, grinning.

<Carol> "He takes his job very seriously though so you're in good hands - we've met before." she glanced at the coffee pot and willed it to fill faster.

<Hope> "Yeah? So kind of a work friend then?" Hope asked, taking another bite of Cheerios.

<Carol> "I guess? We've hung out on base a couple of times, ran a few ops together. Nothing fancy," she gave a half shrug, "He has a reputation too."

<Hope> "Yeah!? Reputation as what? A hardass?"

<Carol> "... Pretty much." She laughed, "But he's like... one of the elite. You hit the jackpot with him and me."

<Hope> "Does that make Bobby the reject?" she laughed at that idea. Poor Drake.

<Carol> "Bobby's... different. His decision to join SHIELD wasn't really a choice made out of a desire to join SHIELD, you know? He's more X-Man than SHIELD and that's fine, but it means he doesn't get ops and bonding time with other SHIELD so much... also fine because a lot of them are jackasses and he has enough bad habits but it's hard from an integration perspective..."

<Hope> Hope couldn't help it. She had to laugh again. "Yeah. Big super hero. I like Drake though. Well now. I was pretty convinced he was going to kill me there for a while, right after he was released from prison."

<Carol> "I like Bobby too, he's easy going... which is saying a lot for all the shit you guys get put through. Honestly, I don't know how half of you get up every day sometimes..." Like now. Now she was struggling to do that herself.

<Hope> "Because we have each other," Hope pointed out. "When one of us can't do it anymore, another one is able to."

<Carol> "And what happens if the one that's struggling doesn't let on?" She turned when the coffee machine stopped making noises. Hurrah! Caffeine! She grabbed a couple of mugs to pour some.

<Hope> "Then they crack and the mess is worse than if they'd just asked for help in the first place. How do you think I got kicked off of the team?"

<Carol> She put the jug down a little harder than she'd meant to, clenching her fist to stop her hand from shaking. Her back was still to the redhead and she hoped this had hidden the slip somewhat. She picked up the mugs, "I figured you gingered out on the wrong person."

<Hope> Smirking, Hope looked down at her cereal. "I took matters into my own hands. In the long run it didn't matter anyway... if he died being eaten by cannibals or blown up a few months later." She shrugged. "Point is, I should have listened to my team and trusted them."

<Shinobi> Shinobi heard the female voices, and while one was of course Hope - he could also sense it was Hope, which, go figure - the other wasn't Jess. Still in his pajama pants and a tee, he ran his hand over his hair one more time and went up the last flight up steps to the kitchen level.

<Carol> "Sometimes trusting people isn't as easy as they think..." She glanced up when she saw movement and held out one of the cups of coffee to Shinobi, "You need this more than I do."

<Hope> That comment about the coffee made Hope uneasy again, which she tried to mask for Shinobi's sake. She took another bite of Cheerios. "I agree Carol." She felt a pang of longing for Eddie suddenly. She missed her friend. She shoved that shit down too. He had gone coocoo.

<Shinobi> "Thanks..." Carol Danvers. He knew who she was, as if the SHIELD uniform wasn't a dead giveaway. On his way to accept the cup, he felt a twinge from Hope and paused to look at her. What was that? Taking the cup, he retreated to her side.

<Carol> "You're welcome... I'm not going to bite you..." she raised an eyebrow at the retreat.

<Hope> Hope took Shinobi's hand once he got close enough, smiling up at him. He looked so cute with bed hair.

<Carol> Carol passed Hope the second cup then went to pour another for herself.

<Shinobi> "Well, I'd hope not. That'd be pretty forward." He gave Hope's hand a squeeze and blew on his coffee before sampling. She had no shoes. A SHIELD agent with no shoes was in the kitchen. Serving coffee. Am I still asleep?

<Hope> No. Found her on the couch. All I know is she said she wasn't here for you. Why she is here is a mystery until after coffee. Hope set her spoon down to pick up the coffee mug. "Thanks, Carol. If they ask, I didn't touch the coffee pot."

<Carol> "And I won't have to lie," She leaned against the counter again and took a sip from her mug. Aaaaaah. Better.

<Shinobi> That's... good. The relief that she wasn't after him was profound, but the situation was still weird. This isn't at all awkward.

<Hope> Yep, yep, yep. Very much yep. She kept his hand, feeling better physically touching him. "So... you feel good enough to talk yet?"

<Carol> "I can't give specifics... Sebastian has all the paperwork... I came last night to ask for his help but I guess yours would be as good if not better...." She sighed, "I need some information..."

<Shinobi> Knowing enough to keep quiet, Shinobi drank his coffee quietly and debated finding his own cereal. Hope smelled like peppermint and Cheerios this morning and he never knew he'd like that smell.

<Hope> "Without specifics I don't know what use I would or could be," Hope admitted. "But I will do my best. What kind of information?"

<Carol> "I need to see a report that's been redacted in its unredacted state. I should be able to, I have level eight clearance, but there's something going on... something someone doesn't want me to read... I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid but I have to see it to know."

<Hope> "Sounds like a perfect job for me," Hope grinned. "I'll see what I can do."

<Carol> "I'm reluctant to get anyone involved but..." she sighed, "Knowing the truth is worth my job."

<Hope> "I love poking my nose where it may or may not belong," she assured Carol.

<Carol> "I do too, that's how I got assigned to the school in the first place... looking into what happened to you," she looked at Shinobi.

<Hope> Hope gave Shinobi's hand a squeeze. "Poor guy ended up with me," she smirked, sipping her coffee.

<Shinobi> He met Carol's eyes and raised his eyebrow, taking another sip of coffee.

<Carol> "I wanted to know how you got out of a top secret government facility and no one noticed... I guess I was asking the right questions..." she gave a half shrug.

<Shinobi> "I walk through walls," he said with a bland smile and a shrug of his own.

<Carol> "Not without your powers you don't... I know what happened this go around... I'm talking about before."

<Shinobi> His jaw tensed. "I'd have to ask you about that one, since I have no idea."

<Hope> Hope rubbed Shinobi's hand soothingly with her thumb, looking up at him. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to. You aren't a suspect anymore.

<Carol> "I'm not asking you, I was asking them. I asked a lot of people a lot of questions and they shipped me off somewhere I couldn't find any answers... God knows what they'd do over this."

<Shinobi> Yeah, so they don't like her any more than they like me. "Why were you even interested in what happened to a bunch of terrorists?"

<Carol> "Because it didn't fit. I don't like it when things don't make sense. I have to know why. And now I'm hitting the same wall I did before and I feel like it's going to bite me in the ass but I'm still not going to stop looking... I never learn." she offered a half smile.

<Hope> Hope offered her a bit of a smile. "That's when you need a team," she pointed out. "A team who can convince her Dad to just about anything." If she could get Shinobi pardoned, a file should be nothing.

<Shinobi> "So, what is it that doesn't make sense now? What's in that report? Generally speaking." He was curious, glancing at Hope with a slight smile.

<Carol> "It's a fatality report." She looked down at her coffee.

<Hope> Hope swallowed her coffee and set the mug down. "Whose?"

<Carol> "Captain Steven Joseph Danvers."

<Hope> "I'll get you that file," Hope told her gently.

<Carol> Carol nodded, turning to put her coffee down on the counter behind her and take a moment.

<Shinobi> Danvers. Well, obviously a relative. He shifted uncomfortably and exchanged a glance with Hope.

<Hope> Hope kissed Shinobi's hand and went back to her Cheerios. "This damn job should have some perks."

<Carol> "It's got plenty," she glanced over her shoulder, "You're standing next to one of them."

<Hope> Grinning, Hope nodded. "When do you have to get back to campus? Because there has to be some trouble we can get into first."

<Shinobi> His eyebrows shot up. He was a perk?

<Carol> "I think I'm supposed to be there right now... but I don't really care." She pushed a hand through her hair and picked up her coffee again.

<Hope> "Technically.... don't I take priority?" Hope questioned, trying to help her out. "So say you were, you know, ordered to be here? Then, even if someone tried, you have a valid reason for them to shut their mouths?"

<Carol> "Guess that could work... I'd have to sweet talk David though... where is he hiding anyway?"

<Hope> "He lurks across the street, avoiding Yukio." She found his distrust of the Japanese assassin hilarious. "I don't think he'd care. I'm high maintenance. I can't even feed myself. Except cereal. I can totally make cereal." Hope finished the last of her bowl and picked up the bowl to drain the milk.

<Carol> "Someone has to corroborate my story..."

<Shinobi> Shinobi took her empty bowl and went for the cereal box himself. "No reason to wash two, right?" he gave her a grin.

<Hope> Hope laughed at Shinobi, watching him as she answered Carol. "Yeah, just drop him a text. He answers those. I swear he sits on his phone and peers over here with binoculars."

<Carol> "You'll have to do that, remember? I don't have a phone right now."

<Hope> "Yeah... I can do that...." Hope snapped out of her gaze at Shinobi, going for her phone to tell David that Carol had her for a while.

<Jessica> There were voices in her kitchen. More voices than there should have been for this time of the morning... whatever time it was. Jess grumbled to herself as she got out of bed and went to take a quick shower. When she was clean and dressed she looked in on Miriam who was making the pre-wail sounds of hunger and wakefulness and did mom things then headed upstairs with Miriam to the kitchen.

<Shinobi> His own cereal made, Shinobi jumped up on the counter to watch those two plot, and eat.

<Hope> "David says 'Cool. #dayoff #partytime.' Who taught all these old men how to use hashtags?!"

<Shinobi> "Hashtag you," he pointed out, taking another bite.

<Hope> "Hashtag stalkers..." Hope pointed out.

<Carol> "I can't believe he's using hastags..." Carol shook her head, "Tell him #respect waning."

<Hope> Hope giggled gleefully and typed that into her phone quickly.

<Jessica> "Well this explains the noise..." She stood in the doorway, cradling Miriam, "Good morning..."

<Shinobi> "Morning, Jess," he said around a bite of cereal, waiting for her to comment on his seating choice.

<Shaw> With Jess awake, Sebastian was soon to follow, and he couldn't be bothered to shower just yet. Grumbling to himself, instead he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror for a while. He needed more sleep.

<Hope> "Morning, Jess. HA! David says, 'Girl please #bye felicia.'" Hope could not stop laughing.

<Carol> "Yeah he's going through a wall for that next time I see him." Carol nodded sagely, raising her coffee cup to Jess by way of a greeting.

<Jessica> Sighing at Shinobi's choice of seat, Jess set Miriam in her bouncer and went to put the kettle on.

<Hope> Hope grinned and tickled the baby before she realized there were people watching.

<Shinobi> He smiled at her while she messed with her kettle, taking another sip of coffee. Then, he noticed Hope touching Miriam.

<Carol> Carol had noticed too, "Damn, I'm now down a fellow kid-fearer. What happened?"

<Hope> Hope froze, glancing over at everyone and slowly taking her hand back. "Nothing."

<Jessica> "Babies are cute, no one can resist them." Jess picked up an orange from the fruit bowl.

<Shinobi> Shinobi didn't bother to stifle his laugh.

<Carol> "Lies." Carol wrinkled her nose, eyeing the child with suspicion.

<Hope> That cute face was too much. Hope picked up Miriam and cuddled her. "She totally knows how awesome my hair is. Nobody can resist that."

<Shinobi> "Well, that's absolutely true." He was surprised at the sudden show of baby affection, however.

<Shaw> He made it up the stairs and stopped to stare at the collection of people in his kitchen. Coffee.

<Carol> Carol sidestepped so Sebastian had a clear run to the coffee machine, he also looked like he could use some. "Hey..." she offered him a small smile, "Sorry about last night..."

<Hope> Hope caught the surprise and gave Shinobi a weak smile. She's not so bad. She made a face as her hair was pulled. All the time.

<Shaw> "Quite all right. Do you feel better?" He paused to give her a once-over and faint smile on his way to the coffee.

<Shinobi> No, she's not. He hid his amusement with another bite of cereal at the hair pull.

<Carol> "I'm fine," she assured him, "Nothing coffee and a little bit of electricity couldn't fix."

<Hope> Hope shifted the baby to her shoulder and relaxed in her chair, snuggling Miriam. "I do need to do some shopping, Carol. If you feel up to that. Course, I might just want to see you fry cameras at the mall."

<Shaw> He raised an eyebrow at the electricity comment and poured his coffee. "Good."

<Carol> "I can do both of those things," she laughed, "I should hang around anyway... have some reading to do."

<Shaw> The cup paused halfway to his lips and he turned around to look at her.

<Hope> Hope grinned. "Awesome!" She rubbed Miriam's back soothingly.

<Carol> Carol raised an eyebrow at Sebastian, "What?"

<Shinobi> Cereal finished, he hopped down from the counter and rinsed out the bowl, certain Jess was watching. Then he went to Hope and crouched beside the chair, looking between her and the baby with a slight smirk. "Cute."

<Hope> She smiled at Shinobi and leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yeah yeah."

<Shinobi> He grinned, reaching over to wind a piece of her hair around his index finger, and dangle it for the baby.

<Shaw> "The file is in my bedroom, if you would like it back. I would still like to read it, of course." He sipped his coffee.

<Carol> "I'm a fast reader... you read while I'm out with Hope and use that brain of yours, I'll catch up when we're done."

<Hope> Seeing him with Miriam made Hope's heart ache for a reason she couldn't explain. She smiled at him, watching him with the baby.

<Jessica> Just then there was a sound, a barely audible squeak. Barely audible to normal human ears at any rate. But Jess didn't have normal human ears and that squeak spelled danger, her eyes found its source before she even registered she was looking for it and a moment later she was on the ceiling, having dropped her tea onto the floor.

<Shaw> Sebastian turned his head at the slight sound, then nearly dropped his coffee at Jessica's reaction, looking up at his wife in shock. "Jessie?"

<Hope> Hope gave Jess the most bizarre, baffled look. What was with that chick? She turned to say as much to Shinobi when she saw the mouse. "Oh my God!" She was up in an instant and standing in the chair, holding Miriam securely. Why did she have the baby!?

<Carol> Carol looked between Hope and Jess then the source of their reactions. She rolled her eyes.

<Shinobi> He was standing up, staring at Jess, when Hope screeched too and jumped into the chair beside him. "What the hell?" What were they looking.... oh. "Really?"

<Jessica> "Kill it!" She wasn't going near it.

<Hope> "Don't you dare hurt that poor little mousie!" Hope started... until the mouse moved toward her. She shrieked. "Kill it, kill it, kill it!"

<Shaw> Sebastian had spotted the mouse too by now. "Isn't this what Sharky is for? Where is he?" He looked up at Jess again. "Love, come down, it's not going to hurt you."

<Jessica> "They pee all the time! And bite!" She was so not coming down.

<Hope> "They carry all kinds of diseases, Dad!" She bounced the baby a bit as she started to fuss. Why did she have the baby!?

<Shaw> "It's not going to pee on you," he reasoned, then put his coffee down to whistle for Sharky, heading for the counter to see if he could corner it.

<Jessica> Jess crept across the ceiling, one eye still on the rodent. Once she reached the area above Hope, she stood up, now completely upside down, and held her hands out for Miriam.

<Shinobi> Shinobi looked up at Hope with dismay, then, he smirked. At least it wasn't a squirrel.

<Carol> Carol just started laughing.

<Hope> Hope gladly passed off the baby, then grabbed onto Shinobi. "Is it going to attack?"

<Shinobi> "It's just a mouse," he pointed out, but wrapped his arm around her hips to balance her on the chair.

<Jessica> She took Miriam, careful to keep her the right way up, and curled up in a corner of the ceiling where she could keep an eye on the creature.

<Carol> "You don't have to kill it..." Carol opened up a few cupboards until she found a plastic container.

<Shaw> The rodent scurried across the floor, and Sebastian realized it was heading for a gap between two cabinets, so he covered the hole. "Well we don't have to keep it as a new tenant either," he said, looking up at Carol.

<Hope> Hope just clung to Shinobi, shaking her head. As the critter scurried across the floor, Hope tightened her hold, wondering if the kitchen table would support her weight. It was higher.

<Carol> "So catch it and I'll take it somewhere far away?" She waved the container at him.

<Shaw> "Or incinerate it." He pointed at her hand. The kitchen had already been on fire once this month, what was one more?

<Carol> "There's no need to kill the thing! It's harmless!" Carol protested.

<Jessica> "It's full of diseases!"

<Hope> "Somebody do something!"

<Shaw> "My wife on the ceiling begs to differ," he said drily, pointing upward.

<Hope> "Yes, yes listen to the ceiling wife," Hope agreed, keeping her firm hold on Shinobi and keeping him between her and the rodent.

<Carol> Carol rolled her eyes again and headed for the mouse, "Bunch of babies..."

<Shinobi> "I'll protect you from the horrible, tiny mouse," he snickered, wary of her poking his eye out with any flailing.

<Hope> "Best boyfriend ever," she told him quietly, ignoring his snickering.

<Shaw> "If I had shoes on, the creature would meet a very different end." He worked on herding the thing toward Carol.

<Carol> Carol frowned at him then slammed the container down over the mouse, "Gotcha."

<Shinobi> "And so the reign of terror ends." He nodded, looking up at Jess on the ceiling with the baby. That was such a strange, yet cool, power. Hmm. Hope could do that.

<Hope> Hope cheered for Carol. "You're the best, Carol!"

<Carol> "I know." Carol smiled, sliding the lid under the box and capturing the mouse properly. "I'll go take it outside..."

<Jessica> Jess wasn't coming down from the ceiling until the thing was out of the house.

<Shaw> Sebastian straightened and moved over beneath his wife, looking up with his hands on his hips. "Love?" He could still sense the anxiety coming off her in waves.

<Jessica> "What if there are more of them?"

<Hope> "An infestation!?" Hope had been just about to climb down. She tightened her grip on Shinobi. Nope!

<Shinobi> Ow! He winced. Bony fingers!

<Shaw> "We haven't seen any before... have you heard any?" Sebastian cocked his head to listen. "It's likely the snow simply drew it in."

<Hope> Sorry! She relaxed her grip.

<Jessica> She wasn't entirely convinced and she listened hard for any other sounds. Not hearing anything, she drifted back to the floor and righted herself and Miriam.

<Shaw> Sebastian looked over at Hope and Shinobi. "It probably had Cheerios for breakfast as well." He grinned.

<Hope> "Box is intact you troll," Hope eased herself down from the chair.

<Shinobi> Shinobi helped her down, unwilling to admit he was relieved she had checked the box.

<Hope> She smoothed out her hair and dress, trying to appear calm and collected again.

<Carol> Carol returned with the box, minus its contents and slightly damp. "It's raining, in case anyone cares."

<Hope> Hope blinked at the box. "Can we burn that?" she questioned. "I don't think bleach is strong enough."

<Shaw> Sebastian gave Hope a look. "Just throw it away."

<Hope> She rolled her eyes. He was no fun.

<Carol> Carol pitched the box into the trash. "So... completely unrelated to the rodent that's now on the other side of the city... can I use a shower?"

<Shinobi> Why were SHIELD agents not-killing rodents and using showers in this house? He gave Hope a side-eye, still close enough he could smell peppermint. A shower sounded like a good idea.

<Hope> "Yeah sure, you can use mine," Hope offered, going for her coffee.

<Carol> Carol wasnn't sure which of the many many rooms in this oddly shaped and laid out building was Hope's. She gestured vaguely upstairs with a questioning look.

<Hope> Coffee securely in hand, Hope stole a quick kiss from Shinobi before heading up the stairs to show Carol where to go. "Right this way."

<Carol> Carol followed her up the stairs after reclaiming her own cup of coffee.

<Jessica> Not at all satisfied there were no more mice, Jess started the process of scouring the cupboards.

<Shaw> Sebastian decided Miriam was the safest female member of the household with which to hide, and did so, taking his coffee with him.