In a bar...

[captain_fucking_magic]

Harry's having a fairly good day, as these things go. He's taking a break from work, and has absconded with Perry's laptop to the bar, where he is typing up a blog post detailing their last case. Or at least, what he's allowed to blog about. Perry still insists on checking these things over before Harry posts them (confidentiality and all that, which fine. Harry can work with that), but he's got pretty good at knowing which bits to leave out or alter slightly to keep Perry in business.

And besides. It's kind of fun, being like Dr Watson. Only, you know. Without the doctor part.

Comments

[myeuh_muh]

Darcy looks amused. "I'll bet. That's still pretty cool though. I could never get card tricks or anything but I love watching them."

She thinks about this for a moment.

"I mean, but it's totally weird, right? Like, I saw that Doctor Strange guy on Letterman a couple weeks ago and it just wasn't the same. It's just not as cool when the guy is actually pulling a rabbit out of a hat, sort of thing."

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Doctor Strange?" Harry asks. He starts to laugh at something that seems insanely funny. "Times must be hard if the Sorcerer Supreme is pulling rabbits out of hats."

[myeuh_muh]

"Oh, no, it actually makes a bunch of sense, we did it in class. Like, because suddenly there are these really dangerous people running around in weird outfits and shit, and there are like aliens and stuff, basically it makes sense for the good aliens and dangerous people to like, show they won't blow us all up. To be honest, he seemed pretty annoyed at having to do anything, like from what I can tell, it was probably ironically meant."

Darcy wonders if she's said too much and drinks milkshake to stop herself from saying more.

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Oh god," Harry says, almost grimly. "Those damn registration acts haven't passed, have they?"


Because, like. That whole thing seriously sucked. A lot.

[myeuh_muh]

"No, not yet, they're in the second reading." Darcy looks grim.

"I've been out on like, protests though. Like, it's so stupid, like black civil rights and gay civil rights and even the fucking Holocaust never happened. Like, Jesus Christ. No wonder the mutant population are so angry."

She seems to be winding up, warming to the theme.

"And then like, they're all 'it'll protect everyone' and it's like, who the fuck are you protecting? Most mutants just want to live their lives and go to work and come home without a big red sign coming up everytime they get carded or pulled over for fucking speeding. It's like, people should be allowed to live their fucking life. If you don't want 'dangerous' people around, maybe you should stop giving lunatics guns or hey, here's an idea, give mutants the opportunity to learn to control themselves. You wouldn't force all the disabled people in America to register so why do it to a mutant?"

She pauses for breath and a thought strikes her.

"Wait, how do you know about the MRA? Cause like, this wasn't even a thing till 2013."

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Uh. I... read about it?" Harry tries.

That's a good answer, right?

"Just, uh. Watch out for Massachusetts on the news."

[myeuh_muh]

"Yeah, right. But seriously, they weren't even talking about the MRA till 2010. I did a paper on it."

Darcy gives him a hard look. "That's some serious reading there."

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Uh."

Crap. How does Harry get out of this one? He managed to really step in it this time, didn't he?

Maybe if he goes back to writing his journal entry, Darcy will forget he ever said anything.

[myeuh_muh]

When he apparently ignores the question, Darcy gives him serious slitty eyes.

She even folds her arms. Harry's milkshake wilts a bit, although that probably has more to do with the ambient room temperature than Darcy.

Probably.

[captain_fucking_magic]

Harry's good at pretending he didn't do anything wrong.

Sometimes.

"I been in trouble for this sort of thing before, so, like... Pretend I didn't say anything?"

[myeuh_muh]

Darcy gives him another look.

"So in your universe, do the Avengers exist?" She asks, finally. There's a feeling that whatever conclusion she's working her way towards, she might not like the answer. Increasingly though, Darcy feels that there is no way she can not follow this line of questioning.

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Uh. I plead the fourth," Harry says.

He doesn't look up from his laptop, or even realise that he got the phrase wrong.

[myeuh_muh]

"Fifth." Darcy corrects absently. "So that means no, right? So like, does that means no mutants as well?"

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Really? What's the fourth, then?" Harry asks, hoping to derail this conversation completely, now that he has a potential way to do so.

[myeuh_muh]

"Guards against unreasonable searches and seizures." Darcy swirls her milkshake.

"So if you don't have the Avengers, how do you know about Loki? 'cause like, I don't remember anything about him turning his brother into a frog in the old myths."

[captain_fucking_magic]

Damnit.

"Really? Huh. I didn't know that was a law. Or maybe I did. I don't know."

See how artfully he's dodging Darcy's questions?

[myeuh_muh]

"So that means someone's telling stories about Loki. And he doesn't know. And the only way he couldn't know is if he was dead or something."

Darcy refuses to be swayed. Better just to 'fess up, Harry.

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Well, I mean, he's pretty old," Harry says. "You know, those Viking guys were like, around a long time ago."


He has no idea that the Loki Darcy knows looks about twelve. How could he?

[myeuh_muh]

"No, he's not. Well, he might be, but he doesn't look it. He looks like, young. Handsome, if you like the sort of winsome thing."

Getting off the subject here.

"But anyway. Probably not dead. Which means that something else has happened, right? Because you know about the Avengers, but like, not personally. You just read about..."

Oh.

Oh.

[captain_fucking_magic]

Harry's not gonna say anything. He doesn't know what she's thinking, and he doesn't want to help her out.

So he'll just be a good little boy and fiddle with his journal entry some more.

[myeuh_muh]

"So... What, like, books, or maybe a TV series, right?"

Darcy sits back.

"Uh. Huh. Who wrote them? Anyone good?"

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Uh."

Harry scratches his head, not sure how to get out of this one.

"Not... really?"

Does that get him out of it? She didn't say, specifically comic books. Or movies.

[myeuh_muh]

"No, look, stop fucking around. I've guessed the secret, so we can talk about it. That's how it works right?"

Darcy leans forward, more threatening than flirtatious now.

"So. Talk. I'm not in them, am I?"

[captain_fucking_magic]

"Not that I've seen?" Harry tries, rather cautiously. This sort of thing is Against The Rules. It's either breaking the rules, or getting shouted at for not doing it.

He sort of resents this whole thing all of a sudden.

[myeuh_muh]

Darcy rolls her eyes.

"Look, what's all the dancing about? I mean, I guessed all by myself, right? So actually, all you're doing is having a perfectly legitimate conversation with someone who also knows what's going on. I mean, I am really interested in these books, like, I've seen them, but I don't know what they're about or anything. Why don't you tell me?"