nexus_sages | holy guacamole it's foggy nelson!

There are so many jokes that could be made right here that will be passed over in the interests of community standards.

Indoors is quieter, calmer, easier to digest because it's one small part instead of the massive infinity outside. The weird is weird, but it's all of a type. Yes, Foggy, this is real.

"Yeah... I'm real lucky." Just thinking about Matt makes her grin in that goofy way and blush just enough to be obvious about it. Even in the midst of all of this, the idea of Matt makes her want to melt.

"I'm safe as houses here," she assures him. It's the easiest part to answer. "As for what happens if you see another you... well. I'm not really sure. I know it's happened to people sometimes, and they didn't, like, explode or anything. It would probably be unsettling, but you wouldn't have to talk to them."

We all have a rough idea of what it would entail. Hilarious, crude humor. The best kind. We now continue our regularly scheduled scene.

He's trying to take slow breaths. Trying. Foggy looks away from one waiter realizing that he's staring. And it's a person....he's a person. Ahem.

"He's really a great guy. The whole... uh hobby takes getting used to. I'm still getting used to it. Does he do that here? Is that how you met him? ...how do you know what is and isn't from your New York?" More questions as she's just answering questions. Foggy clears his throat. "I'm trying to not get carried away here. Everything's okay. Right?" His brow furrows as he searches Verity's face.

Just so long as everyone's clear there's nothing little involved.

Ver reaches across the table to take one of Foggy's hands in both of hers. She's here, Foggy. She's real, she's solid, she's the same woman you met a few weeks ago. The landscape has changed, but this hasn't.

"Here? No. There'd be no reason to. There's some kind of magic or something that keeps people safe here, it's called the antiviolence field." She's going to skip around with his questions to try and organize the answers in ways he'll be able to process. "Everything's okay, Foggy. I promise. You're fine. We'll get you back home and you'll see. I promise."

She's a 'heart on her sleeve' kinda gal. There is nothing in her expression that suggests she's reserved or hiding anything at all.

"You can ask all the questions you need to. As for knowing what's from your world... it can be hard. Sometimes you have to ask some pretty specific questions to be sure, or just take the plunge and go and have a look for yourself. But... heroes happened a lot earlier in my world than in yours. Cap was thawed out in the sixties, Matt was heroing for most of my life. So it's pretty easy for me to be sure our worlds diverged a long time ago."

There are big doings in Hell's Kitchen for always. It's no surprise that this would not be a small observation.

Her efforts are chiseling away at his tendency to get carried away. Foggy sighs and pushes a smile. It's a good sign. "You'd think I'd take to weird better than this." With The Incident, with Matt being whoever he's decided to be. "I'm cooling off." A little. Verity's face is the picture of calm. If this was a trick, she'd have like an Oscar.

"Okay." The hand that isn't under hers pushes back his hair again and he purses his lips. "So like... you weren't surprised by anything? Since it sort of happened already?"

Calm and reason are the best remedy for panic. The coffee and cake being delivered now will help too. Chocolate cake makes everything better. She murmurs merci to the waiter, who seems not to be phased by Foggy's behavior. This is a place lots of people are brought their first time visiting. They've seen worse. "It's okay. You're doing fine."

She pats his hand and leans back now that there's food and drink between them. Her croissant is flaky, buttery, and properly not curled. She's a dunker. "Oh no, lots of things are different. The Incident never happened where I'm from. I mean, we had plenty of other attempted alien invasions, but not the way that happened. The Red Skull didn't die in the war. Sokovia isn't a place I'd ever heard of. Tony Stark didn't build Ultron."

She shrugs and has a bite of her croissant, letting him take all that in before she continues. "So, there are similarities, but... it's kind of like reading a book then watching the movie. Things change."

Foggy Nelson takes his eyes away from Verity's and sees the cake. That's how he knows deep in his gut that everything is going to be okay. He takes up his fork and takes a sip of his macchiato. "...Thanks. Trying." Conscious effort because if he has to be whisked away from his reality at least there's hospitality and good company. The bitter sweet of espresso across his tongue is as real as the both of them. What a trip!

"So Hell's Kitchen isn't so bad then? We didn't get...smashed?" Because that seems like a given. Or something. "Did you relocate because something happened?" Excuse him while he digs into the cake now.

Ver watches him without comment for a few moments, taking in how the simple ritual of sharing food is helping him relax. This was definitely not the time to shock him with some of the other things on the menu. Or by letting him see a menu. It's good to see him starting to feel a little better.

Just in time for him to ask those questions. Her gaze drops. She waits for his mouth to be empty.

"My world no longer exists. A portion of the multiverse was collapsed in on itself. We um. There wasn't time to implement the solution."

See, the comfort that a meal or food items brings is one of those things that the Nelson family really thrived on. Why else would Ma Nelson want to have a butcher boy? It's about taking in something that tastes good, appreciating it's craftsmanship and the peace that being at table offers. That's got roots in warrior bloodlines! Or that's how his father justified it as he asked for additional helpings.

"What?" Excellent gauge of timing. Unfortunately he has no idea what kind of can of worms this is. "What happened? It has to exist cuz New York still exists. And you still exist." Foggy waits before taking in any more cake. They might require more. And coffee. He can see the trouble dawn on her face and it's too late to turn in any other direction.

It's a thought process she understands; her paternal line fought the dark elves. She's the latest in a line of heroes, and may be the last of them. That deserves so much cake.

"I escaped. I came here." She doesn't want to come home, Foggy. She wants to go home, but she can't. "Beings called the Beyonders. Those Who Sit Above In Shadows. They wanted to see what would happen if the Multiverse collapsed. So they..."

She holds out a hand, open and empty, then snaps it shut.

"The only way for one planet to survive was to destroy the other Earths set on a course to collide with it. People here helped me find a way to stop that, but there wasn't time to stop that for my world. So." So here she is. The refugee with no papers and no place willing to claim her.

Latest as she might be, it seems too soon, too sad and too final to say she's the last. All the same, Verity has deserved so much cake. Multiple tiers, multiple flavors, textures... she deserves an All Cake.

"Oh," it's a deflated, single word. He purses his lips and his brow furrows. "I'm...Jesus. Verity, I'm so sorry. We must make you feel like such oblivious idiots." Just going about their ways and days like it's nothing.

An All Cake is way better than a No Prize. But it's not realistic to think she and Matt are ever going to settle down and have kids. He's far too dedicated to the heroing to be a decent father, and Ver would never do that to an innocent child.

"What? No. You had no way of knowing. It's... I mean. Knowing that other people are still alive and well is kind of comforting." It's not okay, it's never going to be okay, but it doesn't have to be a crisis situation forever.

Her legacy might be in teaching the ways of her people. Or... who knows. Never underestimate the power of the multiverse. She is so valuable. There has to be a reason why she was spared because to say that luck is involved with the death of a reality is pretty morbid. There's a plan. Somewhere.

Matt is indeed too dedicated to heroing, it's true. Foggy will agree 100% to that. He's learning how to be a lawyer and a hero. They're not the same thing apparently.

"You can say we're frustrating in our ignorance. I'm already frustrated." It's Foggy's turn to reach across the table and lightly touch her hand. "I don't mean to just... barge in on like your reality right now. Hah." Even if he had no control. "So you got out and came here."

People have suggested her reason is to be the keeper of the knowledge; to make sure anyone from a world that might get caught up in this gets a copy of the directions to fix things. A hero, they call her. Can you imagine?

Lawyers are heroes who work within the law; vigilantes are heroes who work without. They're two sides of a man.

"You're not." She'd tell him if she were frustrated... eventually. It's still important to her to have his good opinion. The offered comfort gets a little smile from her. "Actually, I'm kind of glad you came here. I don't like lying to people."

She turns her hand so she can give his a little pat, then nudges it back toward his cake. He should be enjoying that, not worrying about her. "Right. When I realized there wasn't any stopping things, I decided to move here. And... well. Not many people listened to me, when I tried to warn them about what was going to happen."

A keeper of knowledge at least means no diapers, terrible twos or teen years are involved. The burden of knowing is not for the faint of heart. The warrior spirit and rich ancestry will serve her well. That is heroic to take action when she could be spiteful, let other worlds go down because why should any stand while her's fell?

They are the same side of a man. The man has to at least not act like a bonehead. Matt has been pretty good as of late. Foggy just holds him to a more harsh standard as his good friend and general vigilante critic.

"Glad to take the monkey off of your back," he nods and returns to his fork. "That must have been terrible. You can't say you never tried though, right?" Usual efforts for a silver lining are not as helpful here. "Thank God you got out," he says this softly, unsure of just how okay it is talk about this in length. Surely she and Matt have had long conversations on the matter. He'd sort of like one with his buddy right now for a few strong words.

"I don't like lying either."

Knowing has always been her burden. But sometimes it saves her; she knows there's no good and no comfort in being spiteful. She tried that. It never worked. So now there's the mourning of what's gone and what will never come. Someday, she's been promised, she'll feel better about it all.

She doesn't have much to say--she could have done more, risked more... probably died with everyone else then, but that's what real heroes do. The gratitude that she's still alive confuses her for a moment, but then she manages a thin smile. "I thought it was his place to tell you, when he was ready. It's part of why I didn't come to meet you sooner. Matt's always told me such lovely stories about you."

Yes, she's changing the subject. Please don't press, Foggy, not right now.

Someday isn't today unfortunately. And the goodness of her heart has no comfort with or without spite, she is better this way, as well as can be. Foggy still has a hard time taking the next bite but is just as encouraged to continue on. Verity has. Yes, it is best to just let that stay fixed there.

A sip of coffee at least before more cake. The bitter before the sweet.

He returns her smile. "He didn't actually make them lovely did he? I mean, I'm pretty sure that the first week as roommates he only tolerated me. Matt insists it's because he's really a shy, slow to get to know type. It's a gimmick to get you to be encouraging." Yeah this is a safer, friendlier territory.

Somehow, carrying on with cake seems a little easier. Just a little. She, too, will continue the brave struggle to keep her own delicious treats in line. It's a burden she'll have to learn to live with.

"Oh, is that how it went with you? He's been somewhat more forward with me." Shy about some things, sure, but he was certainly the one taking the lead for most of their relationship. "We first met at a big party. It was Halloween and he was dressed as Waldo. Surprisingly, not that hard to find."

Little does she realize she will now be recommended nearly every worthy greasy spoon in Hell's Kitchen with specialty anything. Doughnuts, croissants, macaroons and macarons, ice cream, cake, pie... Foggy has the hook ups. It's the least he can do.

"I mean, okay he does the smiling thing and the 'sure let's do that' thing. Anybody can do that. I knew it was real when he let me listen to his recorded notes even though I ate his Greek food. That's friendship." He chews thoughtfully imagining the scene and grins around his bite.

"That was my idea. I mean, he knows what Waldo looks like but to make him be Waldo." Foggy points to himself. "Even before I learned he's got...something it was always really weird to me that he'd somehow be able to be with really attractive girls. It was like he was Tommy except not with pinball machines."

A greasy spoon that makes good macarons is something she has to see... and recommend a cleaning service to.

"That is," she agrees. "Sharing food is one of the primal bonding rituals." Says the woman who's fed him twice now. It's almost like, in lieu of knowing what she's doing, she's been reading a lot of books. (She has been; research is easier than actually talking to people.)

"Ah, I must have been a surprise." That's not an attempt to fish for compliments; she knows she's a five, maybe a six where she's from. But the scale she grew up with includes goddesses, so. "Who's Tommy?"

Ah if only it were just a figure of speech. Those charming hole in the wall places. That's not a figure of speech either. Post Incident Hell's Kitchen is making the most in some cases. When you just get by and you're still trying to hear back from your insurance you carry on.

"It so is. I mean, I meant to ask. I was starving. That's primal. Maybe a little high. I don't do that any more. He never did to start. Maybe that was part of the whole feeling each other out thing. Matty is such a square." And he says it with absolute fondness. "He did eat a brownie once." Foggy tries to stifle just how much this humors him. "Wait. So what lovely things has he actually told you?"

Woah, woah. Franklin Percy Nelson has super sensitivity to self-depreciation. He mmms his way through his cake to point the fork at her. "Listen here lady, you're hot stuff. You're very edgy with the tattoos and the hair, way cool." Goddesses or not five or six? Way harsh. And Foggy has the good sense to not complete his thought with 'way cooler than any other girl Matt has been with.'

"Tommy? It's The Who's rock opera? That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pin baaaall. That one." As if that explains it. He sips his macchiato again. Every now and then he catches a glimpse of the waitstaff or someone very odd passing by the window but.... it feels like he's any other place catching up.

Ver's got no complaints about people doing the best they can in the wake of tragedy. The Manhattan she grew up in was like that all the time. She just prefers places that are a little cleaner than Josie's.

It's good he sounds so fond of Matt, she wouldn't usually let someone get away with calling her Matty anything like that. But from him, it gets a smirk. "Oh, did he? Just the once?" She finds it hard to imagine him ever doing that. Impaired senses doesn't seem like his idea of a good time. But everyone does stupid things in college.

"Oh, he told me what a good friend you've always been, how lucky he is you took the chance in opening Nelson and Murdock, how much you like bagels." Plenty of other things too. "Nothing too embarrassing, don't worry."

She doesn't view it as self-depreciation; to her, it's a simple truth. But she'll take the compliments with a smile. "Thank you." Comparing her to exes would not be a smart move; on one hand, she'd love knowing she wins, but on the other, it'd make her wonder about them. She doesn't need to do that.

"Oh. Right." She still has no idea what he's talking about, but it's so much easier to pretend a little and smooth over these things. It's going to be a familiar refrain from her before long. Anyway, there's something more important she ought to tell him. "So... did Matt ever tell you about my power?"

Josie's is their low water mark for places to go, truth be told. They won't go any lower. The only way to go is up! There is hope!

"Yeah, just once. It was a pretty big brownie. It was the week before finals. We usually label food and I usually warn him if there's something up.The good part was that he was giggly, more hungry than before and slower than an arthritic turtle. After though," Foggy clicks his tongue. "Once was enough."

Baw. Even though those are very true facts, Foggy beams at knowing that it's information he proudly shares with his girl. "True on all counts. Though I think some embarrassing thing or two must have slipped out. It's only fair."

Another bite of cake and he nods. "He said you're like... fact sensitive? I don't know if he told Karen. He said that I just need to be honest and there aren't any problems. So. I mean, it's like an allergy or something?" "Please Fog, don't lie to her or in front of her. It's like nails on a chalkboard or a hit in the face. Just don't do it."

It's good to know they have standards.

"Yeah... me too. I don't do well with that sort of thing." What? She went to college. She was uptight and frigid and all the things that people use as excuses to offer her drugs still. Once was more than enough.

"I guess it would depend on your definition of embarrassing? There wasn't anything I think poorly of you for." Croissant finished, she curls her hands around her half-empty mug. "Matt wants us to get along too much to risk it with a silly story about that time you wore your pants inside out."

She hums softly at the partial understanding and gives a little shrug. "Sort of. I'm a human lie detector. You know how frustrating it is when you know someone's lying to you? I feel that all the time. It's tiring."

They do! Nelson and Murdock, attorneys and friends have taste. Matt's are more refined but he has had a natural inclination to what is either more natural or humble. These days though he's being swayed to lots of finer dining. Who are we to blame?

"You too? Well, it's really an acquired taste. I got too much to do now to get baked. Besides law school really got it out of my system." He laughs but boy. The threat was real.

He almost coughs some of his macchiato. Almost. "I still don't know how he knew! I mean, he didn't even touch me. They weren't like... zipped and buttoned pants either. Faux everything. I had to book it to the men's room before opening statements." Laughter means that everything is fine on his end.

Foggy thinks back to that confrontation nearly a year ago with Matt looking like tenderized meat. "Yeah, I don't think that would be a great feeling at all. I try not to. I mean, on principle everyone should try not to but... I really put forth the effort. And it doesn't stop or like dampen if you get sick or something?"

It's no bad thing to like nice things. And if Verity's cooking beats every restaurant in Hell's Kitchen, well, someone needs to step up their game and it's not her.

"Matt just knows things. I try not to worry about the reasons so much." 'Try' being the key word. She worries about him constantly, and has spent some considerable effort trying to understand his powers. But in the end, it's all for naught. He does what he does and she cannot truly understand it. "You wear fake pants to court? Oh, Foggy."

She shakes her head at his question. "No. Nothing stops it. Nothing I've ever found. There were a few ideas when I came here, but... they didn't amount to anything."

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I'm so meta. :P

:DDD

Of course, there really are comics about the Avengers and FF and whatnot where she's from...

what if the comics have the mcu plotlines? :o

That'd be a trip!

/chin hands this idea

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