Players:
Summary: Bruce and Quetzal have differing opinions about SHIELD.
Log Title: SHIELD or Sword?
Rating: PG
NYC - Nowhere
Nowhere is a community bar, with a slightly old world feel. All of the tables and chairs are made of wood, though there are some couches in a slightly offset room with green fabric. The music varies, depending upon the Owner's music taste for the day. Beer and Liquor are both served, but are both carded for as well.
At the front of the bar, right as one walks in, is a large sign. "Superhuman friendly establishment. There will be no tolerance for disparaging remarks based on one's genetic status. Any fights will not be tolerated within the bar. The management holds no responsibility for where combatants are teleported."
It is also quite impossible to use fake IDs here. There is a telepathic bouncer that works the door.
Scene
The bartender in the bar tonight is the blue haired girl from the other night. Lil comes up to the counter and takes Quetzal's order before turning and frowning at another man down the bar. That other man is one of the other bartenders at this establishment. It would appear that he has the night off, since he is currently drinking a beer and sitting on the patron side of the bar. He is dressed in a green tanktop and blue jeans with an Australian hat. The man turns to smile at the bartender. "Oh Lil, don't pretend you're not happy I decided to visit ya on me day off." Truth be told, he came here to meet with someone about the Block Party in a couple weeks.
Spotting Bruce, Quetzal picks up his drink, paying and tipping Lil well with a thank you and walks over to him. "Bruce is it right? I was wondering if I could talk to you about this party Rashmi was telling me about." He does have an interest in being there but not exactly as a SHIELD agent. "I know you're not exactly thrilled with my job but at the same time, I don't think you know much about it either or what I do or why I do it."
Bruce's smile vanishes as he spots Quetzal. Oh look, that man from SHIELD. "You again. I don't think I caught your name last time." Or maybe he did and just decided not to say anything. He frowns at the ermine around the man's neck, but decides not to make the "Seeing eye rat" comment again. "Rashmi knows of the party then? For some reason Magneto seems to trust that little…Girl." It seems as though he intended to say something else.
Quetzal takes an odd sort of inner amusement at Bruce's discomfort and he sits down next to him if he's welcome or not. "Agent Quetzal or just Quetzal if you don't like the Agent part." He doesn't give his real name to anyone that often, not even his friends. "She's about the same age as I was when I first joined the Air Self-Defense Force, she's old enough to make her own decisions about things. She's a good kid though." And even though he said she's old enough here he is calling her a kid. "I don't really know Magneto, I just know what's on file but I also can't turn a blind eye to what he's doing in Genosha."
Bruce continues to drink his beer as he looks at the other man suspiciously. "Agent Pretzel?" He smirks, apparently having not heard the other man too well. Or maybe he did but he's just using the new nickname to cause some minor annoyance to the SHIELD agent. "Yes well, I'd question the intelligence of someone who'd join SHIELD, but that's just me. Regardless, if Magneto trusts her then I'll leave her be for now." He shrugs, keeping in mind that SHIELD apparently has files on Magneto.
"If I may be so curious, what is your distaste with SHIELD and what is it you think we do?" Quetzal asks not letting being called a salty bread treat bother him. "I mean, I almost wonder why one would have such a problem with a person dedicating their life to trying to protect humanity. To prevent wars and have groups that you probably haven't even that want to take over the world stopped? Or is it just authority in general?"
Bruce sits down his bottle and points to it, giving a wink to Lil as she gets him another. He turns to Quetzal and shakes his head. "I knew a kid who went to Barnes, which is run by SHIELD I've found. They never wanted him going out. They studied him, found out his weaknesses. And when he tried to leave the school they tailed him. Sent out a special task force to use his weaknesses against him and bring him back. Haven't heard from him in a few months." He frowns at the agent. "I don't appreciate an agency that goes out and suppresses MY people. What right do a bunch of humans who pretend to be mutants have telling mutants what they can and can't do? And don't even bring up the mutants in SHIELD. They're all too narrow minded to see the big picture."
"You're people?" Quetzal asks. "And what student was this may I ask. Because that is the biggest load of shit that I have heard. And are you claiming that I am pretending to be a mutant because you can have my blood tested if you like Bruce. But then you just proved your point apparently that I'm narrow minded." Quetzal says shaking his head. He doesn't speak but this time the ermine on his shoulder does. "Why are you even speaking to this guy?" He looks at Verde, the ermine, and smiles. "I guess I'm just a mutant trying to tell his people what they can and can't do because…that's my job apparently." He says with a chuckle.
Bruce makes a noise and rolls his eyes at the other man. "Yes MY people. And I'm not going to give you the boy's name because I'm sure if he's still alive it would be even worse for him right now. As for the people pretending to be mutants I was referring to people like that Iron Man. People who aren't born as mutants but who decide they want to have powers to try and police the world." He shrugs and just kind of glances at the ermine. "Well, the thing about mutants is that they don't need people like you to tell them what they can and can't do. The strong should lead the weak."
"Well this may come as an awful shock to you but I don't tell anyone what they can and can't do." Quetzal says looking at the ermine on his shoulder and raising his eyebrows at him. "Well why do you do what you do Bruce, why do you proclaim that mutants are -your- people and you do what you can to do…whatever for them. Cause I will bet you that you do what you do for similar reasons that I joined SHIELD and used to do the things I did for them."
Bruce shrugs at Quetzal, seeming not to actually care what role the man plays in SHIELD. "What do I do for me people? I protect them from whatever or whoever it is that they need protected from. And I'm not going to trust a government organization with deciding what's best for mutants. Trust me, that's pretty much why I left Oz." He takes another drink of his beer. "And I've found recently that my people need more and more protected from things like SHIELD and the police." Probably because the people Bruce is helping aren't doing things in a very legal manner.
"Were you choose to protect mutants, I chose to protect humanity as a whole. Mutant, human, it doesn't matter." Quetzal says finishing his drink and ordering a second Jack and Coke. "We don't decide what's best for mutants, we just try to make this world a better place. Do you know anything about HYRDA or AIM or Latveria? I'm just curious because without some of the things that SHIELD has done, you might not even be able to make the choice to protect mutants as the world would be under control by these madmen."
Bruce chuckles at the man next to him. "Humanity as a whole? There is no 'Humanity as a whole'." He makes air quotes as he says this. "There is the human race and the superior race. And the human race seems bent on destroying themselves AND the mutants." He takes another drink and sits down the bottle. "I'm sure that without SHIELD I'd be just dandy." He makes no indication as to whether or not he's heard of these other subjects. "I'm also pretty sure that without SHIELD my people would probably be a little safer out there from human oppression."
"You call us SHIELD agents narrow minded but I believe that you're among the most narrow minded folk that I have met." Quetzal says. "You claim to know everything about SHIELD and every little evil thing we've done, you want to believe what you've heard and what you've made up is true so to you, it is. Yes…yes you'd be just dandy there Bruce. If AIM were to succeed in one of their goals and these…fake mutants weren't there to make sure that they failed, I'm sure you'd be just dandy." He says downing his drink.
Bruce shrugs again. "Look mate, I don't really care what SHIELD does or doesn't do. All I know is that they've been a thorn in my side and in the sides of other people that I know." Bruce has had run ins with members of the Avengers and SHIELD on multiple occasions. "And if you guys think that you're all that's keeping the world from tumbling into chaos then maybe it's time to wake up. I'm sure that if something went wrong and you weren't around someone else would have stepped in. Then again, it depends on your view of the wrong thing. I'm sure that some of the people you view as villains I view as heroes."
Quetzal stretches out his leg a bit and shrugs a shoulder. "I never said that I think we're all that's keeping the world from tumbling but I will say that we have done our part to see that it doesn't. I know there have been many people…the X-Men included who are all made up of…your people." And the your people is emphasized a bit. "Who have done their fair share of saving the world as well. And as for the people I view as villains…they are people I'm sure you haven't had dealings with."
Bruce smirks, "Well since you're telling me that you're a mutant, that would make them OUR people." He takes another drink. "And I haven't had dealings with the X-Men directly…I believe. Unless I worked with someone unknowingly." He shrugs again and picks up a bottle cap on the counter, tapping it against the wood idly. He does not mention any of the people he has had dealings with, knowing that he is personally wanted as "The Mutant Terrorist Dingo".
Quetzal stands up and takes his cane as Verde jumps off his shoulder and lands on the ground as his common form of a German Shepherd. "I don't consider anyone my people specifically Bruce." He says as he puts a few bills on the bar. "Now as much as I find this conversation enlightening, I need to go out for a smoke." He's one of those pack a day type of guys. "Have a good night." He says as he starts to leave the bar.
Bruce doesn't move from his seat. He watches the ferret creature turn into a dog with some interest, actually wondering specifically how that works. But it seems he is wearied by his conversation with the other man. He turns back to the bar and raises his hand to offer a wave to the man.
~ Fin ~
