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An evening on town for Steve Rogers includes a trip to Times Square. He remembers it well enough, though through the lenses of another decade and time entirely. With a tourist map in-hand, something drawn from a nearby kiosk, he's all but hidden away in civilian guise beneath his baseball cap. In a brown bomber jacket and jeans, he stands off to one side and looks around at all of the billboards and flashing lights in a form of wonder. The automobiles, all these have changed. The streets are cleaner (for what the definition of 'clean' may be) and somehow no less busy. He smiles up at one of the Broadway signs and murmurs to himself,
"Maybe during some free time. Might as well educate myself." The question is…can he sit still that long? He then looks about on the off-chance that he sees a familiar face or two in the crowd.
Loki does not have Steve's wonder on his face, but a wholly more opportunistic expression, scanning around to find out what minor mischief he can cause. Steve's American look, so clean, so full of life and goodness, draws his attention like a virgin in a demon's den. Not that Loki is a demon,but his attention is grabbed. The elegant, pale man is seated on a bench with a fashionable cane in one hand and a suit that seems more appropriate for 60 years ago, but, looks mighty fine.
The dead walk the streets of New York City- although Dead Girl is probably the only one who'd ask for a picture with her as she walks down the street. A few of the hippie kids all huddled around street sign- posing for another as he takes a picture. Dead Girl among them, holding up a piece sign towards the camera. "That was fun!" she offers to the tourists, "Hey, I'll see you guys around, okay? Have fun exploring the city- it's a great place!"
To those with mystical senses, however, Dead Girl represents a wholly unusual, and obvious spot of necromantic energy. Indeed, she casually uses Necromancy as if she were breathing. There is an odd natural vibe to the energy- as if this peculiarity in necromantic energies was somehow alive.
Dead Girl turns down the street as the hippie kids head off- wandering further into Times Square wearing a smile- even as most turn away from her. She is, after all, a walking corpse.
Halgrim is chatting with a hot dog vendor as the later goes through his clean-up routine; to those who can hear them they seem to be having an animated conversation in Danish. Halgrim is just finishing off what is probably the last hot dog of the day, and has a paper cup of lemonade to go with it. As he looks out over the bustle of Times Square, he sees Steve, and pauses to study him for a time. He says something over his shoulder to the vendor, turns to shake his hand, and heads towards Steve, still carrying the cup of lemonade in one hand. His black, leather work bag is slung over his shoulder.
"Hello," he says to Steve. "Are you looking for anything?" He nods at the map Steve has. "Or, anyone?" His accent has a distinctly Scandanavian lilt.
Times Square isn't a place Starfire visits often, but every now and again it's nice to dress up like an Earthling and go people watching. With a dress picked out from a fashion magazine on over her alien attire and her feet firmly on the ground (however much walking bores her). Of course this doesn't exactly stop people from whispering and pointing, sometimes even crossing the street, when they notice her unusual complexion.
For Teddy Altman, Times Square has always been a place to go for a reliable lift of spirits. No matter the time of day, this bustling part of the city excites the young man and centers him squarely in the present. Having just bought one of the last hot dogs from the vendor Halgrim is chatting to, he takes a moment to eyeball the crowd as he finishes the first half of it. His gaze sweeps over tourists and locals alike, then up the tall buildings and over to the Broadway signs Steve also spots. He takes another bite of the dog and licks a finger free of some stray mustard, then starts to go for a leisurely walk around the square.
Steve looks over at being approached and addressed by Halgrim, his wheat-gold brows dancing upwards and out of sight behind the baseball cap's bill.
"Hello. Nothing in particular, no, I'm a local. Brooklyn," he explains, thumbing in the general direction of the borough. "Just haven't been out here in a while." He scans his surroundings again and notes Loki, in passing; what an interesting get-up…? Foreign, maybe? Something jiggles in the back of his mind…that face is vaguely familiar. Hmm. He skirts eye contact with the Prince of Asgard and decides to offer a handshake to Halgrim. "Steve. You from around here too?" He's sincere in his questioning by his open expression. Beyond Halgrim, he sees Teddy and raises a hand in greeting, a quick hailing motion. Out of the corner of his eye, he does note both Dead Girl and Starfire, and his gaze lingers on both long enough out of curiosity. One's got bluish skin, the other's got orange-ish skin…? Metahumans?
Loki drags his gaze away from Steve to eye Dead Girl. For all the obvious reasons. Subtly, he moves his fingers and whispers something…but nothing appears to happen to anyone else, so maybe it was for him. He stares for a moment, then rises from the bench and starts moving in the general direction of everyone. Once fairly close to Rogers and Halgrim, he slows, still keeping an eye on Dead Girl.
Dead Girl's eyes meet Steve's for a moment. Glowing red eyes- like lights from beyond the land of the living. The light is piercing- never dimming, as if she doesn't blink. Only a moment before moving onward in her walk through Times Square- approaching the vendor Halgrim had been speaking to, "Hey, how's it going?" she wonders, as she pulls a little money from her pocket, "You got coffee?" She wonders of the vendor. "Black and hot." she says, with a grin. A couple of cents later she's got a paper cup with coffee in it. "I love the smell of hot coffee." She admits.
Dead Girl takes a deep breath over the cup of coffee as she walks to a bench not far from Steve and Halgrim to sit quietly and enjoy her coffee. She just watches people, now, taking a breath of her coffee every minute or so just like someone might drink it- although it never once is sipped.
Her eyes fall towards Starfire and her fantastic skin. "Wow, that is so cool." She says to herself.
"Only recently," Halgrim admits, and accepts Steve's handshake; his grip is friendly and firm, the hand calloused from physical work of some sort. "But it's been long enough I'm finally getting familiar with some things." He follows Steve's gaze to Dead Girl and Starfire, expression curious. "And discovering new ones all the time," he adds, genuinely in awe of the two women walking in the open, without hiding what they are. He asides to Steve, "But if you're from here I'm sure already know, New York is a city that accumulates all kinds." It seems as though he'll continue in this vein, but Loki's approach renders him silent. He glances at Steve, checking for a cue of familiarity or recognition.
It only takes a few people glancing in her direction without immediately muttering rude words for Starfire and give a smile and a friendly wave. And then casually she lifts a little way off the ground to float over towards the gathering group. "Excuse me friends," she asks brightly. "Is there an event underway? Perhaps the handing out of the coupons?" She looks between Steve, Dead Girl and Hallgrim before frowning. "I hope I am not interupting your gathering!"
Teddy swallows down his bite of hotdog when he catches Steve's wave. It's almost a gulp and choke situation, which happens sometimes when he's surprised while eating. Lifting his own hand, he greets the man from afar and decides to walk over. On his way, his attention drifts over to Starfire and Dead Girl, lingering for a moment before he shoulder-bumps a tourist and decides it might be better to keep his eyes in front of him. "'Scuse me," he says on his way past the slowing Loki. Then, once in front of Steve and Halgrim, he stops and looks between the two, smiling. "Mr. Rogers," he says, focus falling finally on the more familiar of the two. "Hi!" This all happens when Starfire also shows up asking about coupons, so he steps aside to make more room for the gathering group.
Kai sees a gathering, so of course he's got to go see who's there. Anything causing a crowd's gotta be worth seeing. He perks up as he spies familiar faces. He traipses across the street with a bounce in his step, right in front of a car that stops short and honks. He pats the hood of the car and says, "Sorry!" with good cheer and no real sincerity. "Steve!" he says brightly. Loki gets a conspirational wink. Then he gives Dead Girl a little wave, and Halgrim a cautious smile. "Hey, everyone."
"Yeah, it really does collect folk, in a way," Steve agrees with Halgrim with a nod. Following the man's gaze, he considers Loki yet again and draws a bit of a blank. Dang it, memory, come on…something's there! The face…it's on the tip of his tongue.
Teddy's approach brings a smile to Steve's face. "Mr. Altman," he replies. His mouth is open to continue further, but Starfire's approach makes him look to her in particular. "No, m'am, no event. Just a conversation." He shrugs a little, good old Boy Scout to the bone in his earnesty. A familiar voice makes him look around Halgrim to see the Elf on approach and he laughs, almost to himself. "Kai! It won't be a conversation much longer if anyone else shows up. It'll be a party. We might need a caterer."
"At least one person has decent courtesy left." Loki murmurs and lifts his chin. "Kaaaaai." He practically purrs, but does nothing to stop Kai from greeting his friends, seemingly enjoying just watching the elf frolick. "I sense some magic afoot…for what that is worth to you." A glance to Rogers as he tattles on Dead Girl.
"Hi, Kai!" Dead Girl offers, waving towards the elf with a bright smile. "How's it going?" she offers with a grin. "How's Kevin?" she wonders then, curious about the adorably ugly dog. "Love your car!" she says next, grinning wide.
"Ooh, Magic!" Dead Girl says, very obviously a corpse at this distance, at least to anyone who knows a human corpse when they see one. She puts her coffee down and gives a little clap of her hands. "Are we going to a magic show?" She wonders, curious with a grin.
Halgrim raises his eyebrows as Teddy greets Steve with 'Mr. Rogers' and seems to assess him in a new light. "Halgrim," he says, belatedly. "Lindqvist." Though it's addressed to Steve, he implictly includes everyone else with a glance among them. "Indeed we are nearly a party, and Birger has just closed his cart for the day. To think, we might have had plenty more work for him." And now a floating person with orange skin is close enough for him to get a good look at, and Halgrim doesn't attempt to hide his interest. "No coupons, that I know of, though we should keep an eye out. I appreciate them when I can find them."
Halgrim dips his head and smiles at Kai in a greeting — here's someone he recoginzes, at least — only to have his good humor fade when Dead Girl mentions magic. "I'm not sure how well magic would go over, considering," he murmurs, looking askance at Loki and then the city's denizens as they come and go. Some eye the gathering, some ignore it.
"Magic? Do you mean card tricks?" Starfire wonders, tilting her head curiously. "'Real' magic seems very dangerous and you should probably avoid it. There was magic in Central Park many months ago and it made the dead attack people. It was most disturbing." She doesn't actually seem to notice that Dead Girl might in fact actually be dead. Humans all look alike after all, living or dead.
"Coupons are very useful for doing the shopping of the week," the alien princess agrees, giving Halgrim a smile and a nod. The arrival of Kai is accompanied with a wave. "We have met before. Very briefly, in Spanish Harlem I think. I hope you are well!"
There's a smirk on Teddy's face when he's addressed by Steve, but as more people arrive, he goes about finishing his hot dog and allows them to catch up or introduce themselves. When he wants to, he can really put away a hot dog, which is what he does now with the second half. At the end of it, there's more mustard on his fingers, so he turns away to lick them clean. "What's the about magic? I watched a guy doing card tricks in Central Park earlier today. Real good sleight of hand. Impressive." He stuffs one hand away in the pocket of his jeans and holds onto his trash with the other.
Kai sidles over to Loki and says, "Hello, handsome stranger." Steve gets a broad grin from the Elf. It's becoming a party? Yay! "I don't know where Lambert is, you all might end up with bologna sandwiches if I'm the only one on the job. Have you met Loki?" He glances to Loki. "Steve's a good friend."
Then Kai tells Dead Girl, "He's asleep under a chair, or he was last I saw. Lazy thing." There's fondness in his tone for the ugly little mutt. He snap-points to Starfire and says, "That's right! What a night." Looking around, he adds, to those he hasn't met, "I'm Kai, by the way." Talk of magic he lets slide, though the observant might notice his curiosity is piqued.
"Steve," announces the man to the group as a whole, perturbed if only for a second in passing at the number of people. Some already know him, yes, but a few may not, though presumeably his spangly and shielded identity is mostly under wraps…mostly.
"I'm in agreement with…the young lady," and Steve nods at Starfire in particular. "Magic in plain view of the public without warning doesn't tend to go over well." He doesn't look comfortable with the idea as well, brows drawn into a vaguely worried frown. His hands have disappeared into the pockets of his bomber jacket and the tourist map's all crinkled within one of them.
Loki grins faintly, the amusement hitting his green eyes more than the rest of his pale face. "The magic is coming from you." He addresses to Dead Girl. "Strong. Interesting. Dark. How curious. You /do/ look a bit…past your time, so to speak." His grin grows, but seeing as the undead girl seems friendly enough, he also adopts a more relaxed posturing. "Slight of hand is not magic, though I appreciate the talent."
"Well, you give him a big hug from me. I love Kevin." Dead Girl says, with a sage nod as she stands up, and hands her nearly cold coffee off to a nearby bum. "Never touched my lips, I swear." she says. "Hey, thanks Dead Girl!" the older homeless man says, as he accepts the gift. "Anytime, Bill!" she offers the man, as she gives a little salute with her hand.
"I gotta get going." Dead Girl says with a smile- "By the way, you are totally out of this world." She says to Kori with a grin, "I love it!" she says with a clap of her hands. "Anyways, yeah! Nice to meet you all. I'm Dead Girl, but I've gotta run." She says as her eyes fall on some empty space. She whispers quietly, "Be cool. I'm the only one who can see you, I can't just go run off totally randomly. People will think I'm crazy."
Talking to what appears to be nothing probably isn't helping either. But Dead Girl can see the ghost, a young man. "Please, help my sister." The ghost says, unheard by any other. Dead Girl speaks up, "Anyways…." she grins towards Loki, "Yeah, that's sort of my shitick. I'm dead." she offers with a surprising frankness regarding her condition. "Aaaaaanyways. Super nice to meet you all, I gotta go!" She says as she follows off after one of New York's many ghosts. "Okay, so where is your sister?" she says- again seemingly to herself- as she walks off.
Halgrim relaxes when Loki addresses Dead Girl in particular in regards to magic. Her conversation with empty air interests him more than anything else, and he watches her go with an academic's fascination. "I wonder how long she's been that way," he says. "Several decades? Longer? Are there past eras she could tell us about with the detail of one who lived it?" The fact that she's left seems to put the possibility of magic off the table, yet Halgrim nods in agreement with Steve and Starfire. "I wasn't here for the last time magic ran rampant, but I've heard the tales."
Starfire frowns, glancing between Teddy and Loki. "Does having small hands help with magic? Perhaps with the gestures?" she wonders earnestly. Dead Girl gets a shake of the head "Oh no, you are mistaken. I am simply a mutant and not from out of this world. But it is a very easy mistake to make." She shrugs. "Strange things always seem to be happening here. I was at the beach once when some sort of sea monsters attacked. That spoilt what would have been a very enjoyable day out…. Oh, you must all forgive my poor manners! I am Koriand'r but you may call me Kori ir Starfire for short. If you should wish to."
Teddy glances to Loki and offers a casual tilt of the head and a nod, suggesting he's mostly in agreement about the difference between sleight of hand and magic. Then, he follows the man's gaze to Dead Girl and eyes her more closely. "Huh," he says, before she introduces herself and heads off, talking to nobody in particular it seems. "That would be interesting," he tells Halgrim, before turning to Starfire to shake his head. "I have no idea if that would help. I'm Teddy, by the way." This is for everyone interested.
"Only a few months," Kai tells Halgrim. "Her murder was in the paper. She was a rising star before her boyfriend stabbed her to death. She haunts him for it, and sometimes ghosts come to her for help." He lingers at Loki's side, glancing between him and Steve. "I fought some of the walking dead in the park," he mentions, then he offers Teddy a warm smile. "Hello, Teddy. It's nice to meet you."
Steve blinks at the group as a whole, especially in light of Kai's explanation as to the blue-toned young woman's history. He seems wordless in his disbelief before he simply shakes his head and, ergo, shakes it off.
"The things I learn," is his immediate comment to it. "Kori, nice to meet you," and he gives her a winning smile as best he can manage. Ah yes, he recognizes her face now, from an undercover ops many months back. Best to keep things secret…otherwise Peggy might have a bone to pick with him. Loki, then, is given a searching look.
"Are you a magician too or something? How'd you know she had…magic?" It's almost as if the Captain doesn't believe in such a thing. He gives Teddy and Halgrim a look by slant before his attention flicks back to the Prince of Asgard.
Loki fires Steve a deadpan look. "Sorcery…is the term generally used for what I do. Perhaps I will show you sometime. Right now…I am less inclined." He reaches out a hand and touches the middle of Kai's back for a moment as the elf stands near to him. "Kori? I envy your flight…what a delightful mutation. Mortals lucking out with flight every day, I suppose."
"Ah, well," Halgrim says, and sighs. "I'm sorry to hear that. Though she seems to be making the most of her fate, at least." He dips his head at Kori and Teddy, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you both." He's interested in Steve's question for Loki, and studies him anew. There's an air of apprehension about Halgrim, like he dreds the answer, though what it's directed at seems nebulous. Kori's mutation is safer territory, and he relaxes again. "Can you fly," he gestures above them, "only as far as you can breathe? Or further?"
"Flight is indeed wonderful," Starfire agrees, still floating a little way above the sidewalk without a care in the world. "It is especially liberating to be able to fly quickly. It is quite thrilling!" She shakes her head at Halgrim. "Oh I do not need to breathe at all. So I can fly as long as I desire. But it does seem to upset people, so if I see signs they are becoming distressed I try to land."
Kai smiles at Loki's touch and turns toward him just a little. He's not good at hiding his affection, not that he's trying all that hard. Still, there's plausible deniability. "Flight looks great," Kai says. "Does it make you tired, Kori? I'd fly forever if I could."
"I will meet you at home, Kai. I need to take care of something before I get there. It is a pleasure, all. I am certain it will not be the last time we meet." Then, Loki will head off for home!
"Ah…thank you, but no worries. I've seen enough…magic lately. Met the local wizard not long ago," Steve explains to Loki and gives him a tight little smile. The idea of Kori flying is, indeed, safer territory for him and he considers the space between the concrete and her toes before glancing back to her face. The things that this world reveals to him daily are things of wonder sometimes. Wizards and now flying redheads. What else will it come up with?
"I can imagine it's a kind of freedom, being able to fly like that. Got a friend who can do that, but he's got a suit for it, wings and all." He glances over at Halgrim and Teddy and gives both a half-smile to be certain that all are addressed. Good manners and all!
Teddy was quiet for a few moments because he decided to run off and throw away his trash, which is always akward to hold while meeting people for the first time. When he returns, he catches the bit about flying and casually agrees that, "Flying is fun! I wish did more of it." He glances up at the sky then, where there is likely a plane overhead, so whether he means traveling in one of those or something else is up for interpretation.
Halgrim blinks at Kori, clearly flumoxed. "You…don't need to breathe?" Numerous biology classes are even now rattling about in his head, though he's not really inclined to interrogate her on the issue. Mutants get enough of that, after all. Carefully, he says, "That's really very incredible," in an attempt to express his genuine curiosity while leaving out the, 'modern science is freaking out inside my head at this very moment' part. Flying is one thing; lack of air another entirely.
He glances at Steve and frowns. "We have a, local, wizard? Someone who announces themselves as such?" He considers Teddy anew, probably assuming that planes aren't what he means, given Kori's recent comments on her lack of need for air. Who knows what Teddy might be capable of under these circumstances.
"Tired of flying? Eventually I suppose. The longest I have spent without landing was roughly a year," Kori replies with a smile. "And afterwards I was a little worn down. Although I am unsure if that was due to the duration of time or the manner of my landing. Which was… abrupt." She shrugs. "It is not as freeing as you might imagine, many buildings are too fragile to fly around. Windows can break due to sonic booms and the glass might harm people. So I must be very careful."
Kai nods to Loki, and he watches the Asgardian Prince leave with a small smile on his lips. Then he looks back to the conversation at hand. "That's the thing with being up in the air, isn't it," Kai says to Kori. "It's not the heights I worry about, it's how fast the ground catches up with you. I've flown on planes and on a dragon once, but…" He shakes his head. Not a flyer, himself, apparently. With a quick and sudden grin, he tells Steve, "That was Loki, Prince of Asgard. Thor's brother."
"Thor's brother?" Steve's certain to link that face to the oldest Prince of Asgard and then, it clicks. He's seen that face before, on a list of folks to keep half an eye on. Of course. Duh. "Huh. They don't look related," he adds with a faint wrinkle of his nose in mild perplexion.
To Kori he looks again and shakes his head wonderingly. "It's kind of you to look out for the other folks, miss. Sometimes, great feats beyond the norm can startle them. Nothing like dealing with a large group of startled people." He says it with the faint flatness of implied experience in such a thing.
Halgrim does receive his answer, though it's with little enthusiasm. "Yeah, the local wizard. He lives over in Greenwich Village. I…went to speak with him for a friend of mine. It was an experience." The Captain shrugs again before suddenly adding, "Right, Sorcerer. Not Wizard. I have to tell Stark that."
"A dragon?" Teddy's eyes widen some when he hears about Kai's feats, seeming impressed. He doesn't seem to know Thor, at least well enough to care about his brother just being here, but the mention of the local sorcerer does catch Teddy's interest. "How is he, by the way?" He nods over to Steve and lifts a brow.
Now that Halgrim knows who the departing man is, he watches Loki go with a clouded face, concern making him go still. But he shakes it off, because the conversation is continuing, and there's no need to stare. He looks between Kai and Kori, as impressed as Teddy is by their talk of flight in its many forms, and its perils.
As semantic as the difference between 'sorcerer' and 'wizard' might be, Halgrim nods, accepting Steve's correction with an academic's aplomb. His curiosity is definitely piqued. "I see. Is he —" Halgrim stops, makes a face. There's no dancing around the question, no way to put it delicately. "Is he really a sorcerer?" he asks.
Starfire ahhhs at the mention of Asgard. "I have been drinking at the Asgard embassy before," she recalls. "My memory is fuzzy but I woke up three days later in a fjord. I assume I had a very good time. Although I still do not know quite where I was when I awoke or why I was there…"
"Like night and day," Kai says agreeably to Steve. He sighs softly, and he grins, ducking his head. "Anyway, yeah. That sounds like you were at a proper revel, Kori. If you remember it, you weren't really there." He lifts his head, catching Teddy's widened eyes, and he shrugs a little, meek in his way. "It was just an ice dragon. Loki summoned it on New Years. It knocked out the big apple-dropping thing, but we managed to defeat it, a couple mates and I." He pauses, then adds, "We've got a complicated relationship." He glances sidelong to Steve and Halgrim. "If you're talking about who I think you're talking about, he's the real deal and then some."
Steve's about to reply to Halgrim when Kai speaks up in regards to this person in question. His mouth hangs open for a second before closing sharply. A frown knits his eyebrows before smoothing out.
"I know he's the real deal, he showed me," he says to the group as a whole. "One minute I'm staring at empty air, the next I'm looking at Ayer's Rock in Australia and there's a kangaroo staring back at me. A hole, in mid-air, surrounded by orange fiery lights." He adjusts the bill on his hat in discomfited fidget. Teddy's question then clicks. The Captain looks at him pointedly. "…you know the Sorcerer?" His eyes flick to Kori. "Do you know him?"
There's a smirk in Teddy's expression when people talk about the wild party. Coupled with the fact that Kai /fought/ the ice dragon, he suddenly feels like he doesn't have any truly wild stories to tell. "I need to get out more," he says, sighing as the conversation turns to the resident sorcerer again. He eyes Steve, shrugs, and sets his hands on his hips. "Maybe." He grins and looks to Kori, also curious.
"A portal to Australia," Halgrim says, sounding thoughtful. His eyes flick between Kai and Teddy, though he's not concerned by the possibility of a real sorcerer so much as interested. Very interested, even. He smiles at Teddy. "You say you should get out more as though interacting with an ice drake would be one of the things you'd hope would happen," he said, almost laughing. He doesn't wait to hear if Kori has also met this sorcerer, instead saying, "My apologies, but I must go — it may be summer but I've a great deal of reading and writing to catch up on. It was a pleasure to meet all of you." He steps away from the group and into the crowds, forming an odd-shaped wake around him as some people seem to scurry away and give him a nervous look.
Starfire shakes her head. "I met a nice lady who did a magic show once," she recalls thoughtfully. "And an odd man who said he was a god. But I have never met anyone who claimed to be a sorcerer. Although recently I did meet a young man who could summon business cards out of thin air. I suppose it is possible I have met the person you are talking about and the topic simply never came up? I travel a lot and meet many new people all over the… uni… I mean the world."
Kai waves to Halgrim as he heads out. "I've never been to Australia," he says. "Maybe I can ask him to take me there someday. I bet I could get in a fight with a kangaroo." Because of all the reasons to travel to Australia, that's the one he hones in on. "I bet I could win, too." He beams at Teddy. "Just hang out with us and something interesting is bound to happen. I bet Loki could summon you something truly fascinating. Might want to be a ways from civilization, though."
Steve watches Halgrim go with a lingering sense of attention. Something about the man twigs a more primal part of his brain, but bravery has ever been the blond's touted personality trait. He seemed nice enough. Glancing back to the others, he half-smiles once more.
"You would get into a brawl with a kangaroo," he mutters, almost to himself, in regards to Kai. Kori gets the bigger smile yet and he says to her, "I think I know who you're talking about, if he can summon business cards out of thin air. He's an interesting one. Stubborn. I like him. If I ever had to deal with a dragon, I'd want him at my side. He seems like he's got a cool head. You too," the Captain adds, nodding to Teddy, sincere in his compliment.
Teddy turns to watch Halgrim leave, lifting a hand in the air as a goodbye. When he turns back to the others, he says, "Actually, I know someone who can summon business cards, too." Small world. It's to Kai, though, that he focuses on next. Not the part about the kangaroo, but about what sounds akin to an adventure. "I think I'll take you up on that," he says, grinning before he gets the compliment from Steve. This makes him stand just a little bit straighter. "Thanks," he says, grin growing closer to a beam.
"How big is a kangaroo?" Kori wonders, looking Kai up and down. "Are they mighty beasts..?" She scratches her head. "I must admit I do not know what a dragon is. English is not my first language you see. Some day I will have to find time to visit an American zoo to learn more about the various animals in the country.."
Kai gives Steve a chagrined look. It's not like he'd go looking for trouble with a kangaroo. The trouble would find him! His dismay is shortlived,, though, when Teddy says he'll take him up on the offer. "We'll go do something great! Maybe the sorcerer will send us somewhere if we asked. Somewhere fun, like a haunted, abandoned temple on some deserted island." To Kori, he says, "I'm not sure. Pretty big, though, I imagine."
"A kangaroo?" Steve holds out a flat hand, palm down, and raises it until it's about at level with his chin. "They're about this tall, big hind legs, long tail. They bounce on their hind legs like springs. Imagine a rabbit and a deer combined together. They've got big old dark eyes, but I dunno if I'd want to pet one. Their claws look like they can be nasty and I remember stories about men boxing them for sport. Bloody," he informs them all.
A glance up at the clock tower nearby from him and he nods, almost to himself. "I wouldn't be asking things of the Sorcerer. He might ask something of you back…he warned me as such. If you'll excuse me, I've got to be elsewhere. Nice to meet you, Miss Kori. Good to see you, Kai and Mr. Altman." He touches fingers to the brim of his baseball cap before turning sharply on the spot and briskly departing from the Square proper. No rest for the weary, after all.
"Oh, you won't find a dragon in a zoo," Teddy says. "At least you're not supposed to." Who knows, though, these days. Turning next to Kai, he nods and says, "Deal. Just let me know when and where. I'll show up." When Steve then decides to head off, he extends his hand toward the man to give it a shake should he accept. "See you around, Mr. Rogers. Soon."
"It has been nice meeting you all," Starfire responds, looking up at the sky with a sigh. "It seems that I must also be about my errands. I hope you will not be alarmed if I have to fly." Not that she's really stopped flying as such, but there's a big difference between floating above the sidewalk and zooming around at mach three. "Perhaps you should do this Sorcerer a favor before hand, then he will owe you and feel unable to ask for services in return! Anyway I hope you all have pleasant evenings!" And with casual ease she soars vertically up, probably pushing a good hundred miles an hour, and disappears off into the sky.
Kai says confidently, "I'm sure we can work something out with the sorcerer." Then he waves to Steve and Starfire. "Steve, always a pleasure, mate. Kori, so good to see you again!" He then tells Teddy, "I'm off to Asgard soon if everything works out right, but I bet I could squeeze in an adventure first. If not, then when I get home." He gazes up into the sky, in the direction Kori's gone, and he murmurs, "Man, it would be so groovy being able to fly."