March 02, 2018:
Agent Coulson pays a visit to the Titans to speak with the resident Speedster about serious business. …and overgrown cats.
Ext. Titans' Tower
Characters
NPCs: None.
Mentions: Iso, The Maximoff Twins, Red Robin, Rusalka Stojespal, Sloane Albright, Spoiler, Zatanna Zatara
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
The Titans' Tower is in no way at all inconspicuous. Whoever thought it would be a grand idea to make a tower in the shape of a giant uppercase 'T' must have thought they were being cute.
There's a ferry that will take one across, not that the Tower is a prime tourist attraction. A swath of trees makes up a small wooded area between and around the Tower proper, but there's undoubtedly enough security cameras scattered about to monitor every possible relevant angle, given the resident batling.
Unlikely visitors to the Tower won't need to even go very far to come across anyone today, however. The young Speedster of the team is currently outside, in costume likely because of consistent insistence from Red Robin even though this totally counts as extra-curricular activity.
Not far off from the path that winds through the woods, the red-and-white clad Speedster stands looking up at the branches of one of the trees, a red strap or something in his hand, the rest leading up into the branches above him.
And so it is that a non-descript older gentleman in an equally non-descript dark blue business suit ends up standing beside him, peering up into the tree, a mild smile on his face.
"What are we doing?" he asks, just as if he were invited here all along, just as if he were scheduled to be here, which he patently was not on either count. He has his hands in his pockets and a curious expression on his face. This is just something Phil does sometimes, this habit he has of just appearing near people he wants to talk to and proceeding to talk to them.
It's the simple pleasures, really, that make the job great.
Impulse certainly isn't Red Robin. His attention wanders rather easily, and currently he's been plenty focused upon whatever's up in the tree that Phil Coulson might as well have just appeared out of thin air.
"GAH!" He can't fly, but he sure gives it a good shot for the leap in start. Turning about, he drops his free hand over his chest with a sigh. "-oh grife, where'd you come from?" The surprised look on his face eases into something more of a grin- go figure that he'd be a little amused with that- although also in recognition. "Mister SHIELD agent person guy…" he says as he wags a finger at Phil as he tries to recall the name. Did they all get introductions that time? Probably not, otherwise he'd be better at this.
Phil would be able to see what had captured Impulse's attention. Large, 4-foot long pink cats just aren't very good at hiding. She seems to be trying, however, crouched as she peers down at the two on the ground below.
"Phil," Phil says, surprised that Bart remembered that much, really. Most people forget him 30 seconds after meeting him, and that suits Phil just fine.
But he is momentarily caught off guard himself.
"That's…that's a pink cat," he says, because of course it's a pink cat. Of course it wouldn't be a tabby cat, or a calico cat, or a white cat, or a black cat, or even one of those creepy hairless cat-things. No, of course it's a pink cat. He supposes it could be a cat treated to a full run of Manic Panic or something, that's a possibility, but…
Why does he feel like it's not a very likely possibility? Why does he believe the giant pink cat was born pink?
"A very large pink cat," he clarifies, as if Impulse can't see that for himself. As if he was not dealing with the cat in the first place.
It's been that kind of week.
"Phil! Right, gotcha. Impulse, but you probably knew that already." Grinning, Impulse looks back up at the cat as Phil takes notice. "Oh yeah. That's Clawmy. Short for Clawminator Destrucat Mk. II." Obviously named by the Speedster, or at least for those that know him. Said cat has a red harness, which is what the strap he's holding is attached to. "I was taking her out for some exercise. Red Robin won't let me do that out in the city, even though I promised I'd keep her from pouncing people."
The very big cat meows as though agreeing. Or protesting. Who can tell?
"-oh um. So what brings you here, Agent Phil? Gotta be on purpose, 'cuz people don't get lost on a ferry that only has one destination and back."
Of course it's named Clawminator Destrucat Mk. II. What else would it be named?
"You do," Phil says, stepping back so he doesn't lose an eye should this cat get frisky, or pissed off.
He clears his throat. "I very much need the help of a speedster. You might have noticed there's one running around that likes to do some fairly violent and destructive things. It might be good to have someone I could get in touch with…uh…speedily…to help counter that if necessary."
Sure, he hopes he can achieve peace on earth and goodwill and all that good stuff, but the more realistic side of him says what's probably going to happen is he's going to need Impulse and…Clawmy's…help pretty soon.
Impulse frowns up at the cat. "Be nice…" Brows arch behind his goggles as he glances back towards Phil then. "Oh yeah! Sloane mentioned something about that." He shoots a look out of the corner of his eye as he feels a slight tug against the leash in his hand.
"I haven't run into them before- hah, speed pun." Ahem. Serious business. "Well um, I can figure the reasoning for that. And I guess it'd be okay to work with you on it since on the whole this other speedster guy's been causing trouble for people, right?"
"People have in fact died as a result of his actions, and his sister's. You should be aware that his sister has some sort of mind-altering or telepathic power we don't fully understand." Phil says quietly. "I would of course compensate you for any help that you give. Or SHIELD would, rather." Cause he doesn't really have that much in the way of personal compensation. He takes another step back from the kitty, warily, and asks:
"What I'd like to do is make it known to all agents that if the speedster shows up again they need to try to call you to assist with an arrest." He can talk peace, but if they are actively busy doing something awful SHIELD has to respond. Hopefully the twins know that and will hesitate to come and do more awful things. It's a difficult tightrope he's walking. He'd rather soothe the waters than string these two up, but that is somewhat contingent on them not giving him any more reasons to have to try. A difficult tightrope indeed.
He hadn't been told about a sister, nor the abilities she possesses. That could possibly be a problem, and Impulse knows the risks of tangling with a telepath. Phil gets a solemn nod to confirm that it's a note he'll keep in mind. Sure, Red Robin's got his qualms about them mixing with S.H.I.E.L.D. or other groups, but so long as there's fair reason to help each other, Impulse doesn't see the problem in it. And besides, isn't that what they're supposed to be doing anyway? Helping people?
"Sounds fair-" he begins, just as the leash slackens. Up above, Clawmy's decided that she doesn't have to leap far at all, and she's gathered herself to lunge towards Phil.
Things happen rather quickly after that, the cat practically vanishing from mid-leap and suddenly cradled as well as a large feline can be in the young Speedster's arms. "Clawmyy! What'd I tell you, huh? Agent Phil isn't here to play with you!" He puffs a pink paw from his face, turning to glance at Phil with an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. But yeah- where was I? Oh right. I can get behind that, I think. If there's any way you think I can be of help to you and your agents, then sure. I'm in."
Phil stands stock still with his arms sort of coming out. He has no idea if he's about to get his eyes clawed out or if she wants a headscritch. When Impulse catches the cat he just gently offers his fingers so she can sniff at them or headbutt them as she sees fit. One must be very polite to cats in general, and to ginormous cats in particular. "Excellent. When uh. Clawmy is settled I'll get us set up with some contact details. Is there anything you need from me? I can certainly send over the footage that we do have of past incidents, to ensure you're fully prepared."
Everyone is pretty much suspicious of SHIELD, it's so par for the course, but Phil does try to ensure they're as easy to work with as possible, especially when he's the one out here begging help. Fortunately, Impulse is an easygoing soul, and a helpful one, and he is not having to beg too hard. A fact he approves of, as it happens. The young man did well as they all tried to fix JARVIS.
The pink cat sniffs at the offered fingers, a darker pink tongue licking at the tips before she bats playfully, or as playfully as a cat several times the size of a normal one can.
"Um…contact info's a good place to start, I think. Seeing what you've got of this guy and his sister sounds good too." Impulse nods to himself as he says this. What else would Red Robin ask for..? That seems a good baseline to go off of.
"Where they've been involved, uh… Okay yeah, I'm no good at this," he admits, lips quirking in a sheepish sort of smile. He lets Clawmy slip down to the ground once she seems to behave, whereupon she sets to rubbing against Phil's leg. Pink cat fur, yay.
Pink on blue is definitely a thing. Phil reaches down to scritch the cat though and says, "The first time was at the Stark Gala, there were a lot of explosions and the whole city nearly blew up. The second time was at a Human's First rally, I don't think anyone actually died at that one. I'll send the footage." He watched it, he read the reports, he should know off the top of his head, but right now Phil is officially juggling, and he'd seriously have to review to remember the exact casualty count.
He hits a holographic display on his watch and taps buttons to send info over to Impulse's phone, then whenever Impulse sends his own over will get that all saved and taken care of. He also taps in the orders to get the footage, files, and other information on the Maximoff twins sent right over.
He makes an executive decision. "I'm authorizing you to share this with the Titans," he decides. One more team who can deal with them can't hurt; a whole team. "Some of it they already know. Zatanna tangled with the female of the pair at the Stark gala, I believe."
Impulse frowns again. "Whoa, really? Man, what was I doing that night?" …being lost in Avalon fighting hordes of undead, apparently.
He nods as Phil tells him that he'd get that info over to him. Absently he hands over Clawmy's leash to the man so he can poke at his phone once that notif pings it. His fingers are a blur as he shoots off a response back so Phil can that confirm that contact info, completely with a smiley emote.
"Wow, you even make it sound official. Er- right, yeah. I'll let R-dubs know. Wouldn't be surprised if he already knows something, Â 'specially if Zee was there."
And now Phil is holding this cat's…leash. He holds it firmly though; he doesn't want to be the reason a giant angry pink cat streaks all over the place killing people. He kneels down to scritch her ears though, sort of charmed by her really, and smiles slightly at you even make this sound official. "It's kind of my thing," he says. "You can also feel free to coordinate," more official conversation, "with Agents Albright and Stojespal. Agent Albright was the one who recommended we contact you, and they are well versed in all aspects of the case. Both were also on-site the night of the gala, and can probably give you insights I don't remember from the file."
"Oh yeah, sure thing," Impulse nods. He was kind of curious to see how Sloane was doing anyway, Â seeing as how he was pretty sure the last time he'd seen her she was on some magical goat. Okay, that sounds weird even to him. "Stojespal…she was the one in the armor suit thing, right?"
Clawmy purrs at the attention, shifting onto haunches to try climbing Phil. "Oh, she likes you!"
Phil decides to just try scooping up the cat so his suit doesn't get shredded, and offers more pets. "I like cats," he says sheepishly. "I don't have any because I'm never home, but I've always liked cats. I last had one when I was a boy in Wisconsin. His name was Aragorn." Because of course it was. He clears his throat, maybe a little embarrassed to let his inner nerd slip, but there it is. "Big black cat, not as big as Clawmy here, but big as most cats go, you know. About 19 pounds, very smart."
And at this point he's done his mission, he should get on with the next thing, but there's this enchanting cat trying to make friends with him, and that is enough to cause Phil to linger rather than darting off to the next thing.
Sometimes it really is the little things.
Impulse smiles at that. It's nice to see that even the Suits have a more personable side, although from what he's seen so far, Impulse rather likes Phil. He seems like a pretty reasonable guy.
And sometimes you just needed a break with normal activities. …even if it involved abnormally sized felines.
"I've never had a cat before. Found her with a whole slew of other kittens one day- apparently they were used in labs or something." He reaches out to pet the cat as she snuggles against Phil's neck. Well, that explains why she's abnormally huge.
"What happened to the other kittens?" Phil asks curiously, scritching at the cat's head now with every evidence of a man having the time of his life. He lets one of his more genuine grins cross his face, hazel eyes bright and pleased. He really is a person under all the sunglasses and badges bits, and apparently cuddly animals bring it right out of him no matter the color, as long as they don't look apt to destroy his face.
And he seems genuinely interested in the fate of the kittens. Despite the Mk. II name Clawmy doesn't seem like a robot. Cyborg? Genetic anomaly? He's not sure. "Which lab was doing horrible things to cats?" he asks, more importantly, because it's possible SHIELD now has to go on the warpath. LIBERATE THE KITTENS.
Probably not the most important thing he could engage in…
No. LIBERATE THE KITTENS.
"Not sure. But authorities were notified and Spoiler took care of the people that had been keeping them. Not sure where they were supposed to be headed to." Impulse laughs a bit. "Clawmy kinda stuck with me. Didn't exactly figure she'd get so big though."
Probably better not to think too hard on why the name, although the Speedster might have thought a cyborg cat would have been cool. Thankfully this feline is all flesh and blood…and cuddles. When she's not mutilating Iso's slippers.
"Didn't catch a lab name, sorry," he says with a duck of his head. He was present at that scene in plain clothes so there hadn't been much he could do but help juggle kittens.
"I'll ask Spoiler later," Phil says with a smirk. If it's handled it's handled though; sounds like the kittens all got somewhere, hopefully to families and not to shelters. This is something Phil just missed entirely, but he cannot keep track of everything.
"You are big," he tells Clawmy. "Big beautiful girl. But I should put you down and get going." Says the Agent currently shifting her so she can cuddle better. Yeah, thoroughly enchanted. "How long ago was this? Because she might not have even reached her full growth yet."
He briefly wonders if twenty story kittens stomping through New York trying to use Central Park as a litter box are on his horizon.
Hopefully said families didn't experience problems with excessively giant kittens or otherwise.
The pink cat purrs and puts her paws over Phil's shoulders in a kitty hug. Or perhaps she's claimed him as one of her own. Hard to tell. Impulse blinks and tilts his head as he thinks on that question. It's a very good question with very reasonable concerns.
"Oh, um…about half a month ago?" he says as he brings his hands up in front of him, trying to figure the sizing difference. "Yeah, she was a little smaller in January." By about a foot, give or take.
Ooof. Yeah, that could be a problem.
Phil straight up kisses her little kitty head, and then gently puts her down. "Let me know if she gets up to six feet," he says gently. "If so we might want to have a look at her physiology and make sure she doesn't get any larger than that. It could be difficult for her if she does." And he means that; both in terms of ensuring she gets enough food to eat and simply in terms of being a cat who wants to do cat things. Or getting to a vet who will serve her at all. She's already pushing it on that angle.
And it will tell him he'll need to go and find a way to locate the other kittens to ensure they get medical care that will help them. Which…
"Has she had all her shots?"
Last thing they need is a four foot gigantor cat with rabies.
Clawmy yowls in protest and then flops at his feet, paws pressing against his shoes. Impulse glances down at her with a wry smile, nudging her with his shoe, which she promptly rolls over to grasp at.
"Sure, okay," the young Speedster says when Phil speaks again. There's a fleeting look of concern on his face as he says that, but with the explanation given, he slowly begins to nod. That…makes a lot of sense, and it's obvious he hadn't considered such complications past getting his own job so he could cover kitty expenses. …oh yeah, that's the whole reason he went and got a normal job.
"Yeah, got that covered early on. Other than being a little underfed, she was pretty healthy. Didn't know vet visits were so expensive though," he grumbles.
Phil chuckles as he offers the leash back to Impulse. "Taking care of live beings is always expensive," he commiserates. "But she seems happy and well cared for." No rabid cats? Phil's a happy camper.
He smiles faintly. "I should get back," he adds, a little regretfully. "Thanks for seeing me today." As if he didn't just kind of. Show up and make himself right at home. Then again, Impulse didn't zoom away so Phil couldn't, so the statement probably still stands. Even if Clawmy probably kept him there and prevented that course of action.
He starts walking towards the boat. "Call me if you need me as well; there may be times when SHIELD can be of assistance to you and the Titans, as well." It's all about building relationships.
Taking back the leash, the Speedster nods, glad to hear he's been doing something right with the cat, big as she's gotten. Seems like playtime with kitties is over but all good things must come to an end.
"Ah, you're welcome, I guess?" he says, as though just realizing and thus trying to work out how that applied. Phil had kind of just appeared, after all. "Was nice talking to you, Phil. I'll sure let you know if stuff comes up though." Relevant stuff. Giant cat stuff. "Thanks. I mean, we're all protecting the same people, right?"