nexus_crossings | In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

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In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

It had been a while since Shelby had visited the Nexus, and in that time, many things had changed. She had made the decision to stay at Team Penske despite getting a very good offer from Chip Ganassi Racing, unable to walk away from the teammates and crew members that she considered family after they had supported her through the majority of her career. She had reunited with her strategist Shane Worthington, and the two of them had made a pact that they were going to make her giving up her dream job worth it. Unfortunately the 2022 season had not yielded the success that they wanted.

While Shelby had won a race, her other teammates had won more. And though she was leading the championship standings by virtue of consistently finishing in the Top 5, that still felt disappointing when she'd had years where she had won three or four events and dominated. There were only four races left in the season and she felt like she hadn't reached her full potential. She was also adjusting to changes off-track with rumors about where she might be driving in 2023 and having to balance a personal life. After almost a decade of friendship and over a year of circling each other, she and her ex-strategist Peter Fowler had finally entered into a romantic relationship. While Shelby loved Peter deeply, the transition hadn't been easy and she wasn't used to having to think about her home life during the racing season. She also had no idea that he had bought an engagement ring in Toronto.

Add all that up and she wasn't surprised the Nexus thought she needed a getaway once they had finished the Indianapolis race and things had relatively settled back to normal. What did surprise her was that Peter had gone through the door with her. That had never happened before, but one second they'd been headed for the garage to try and distract themselves by working on her Cobra, and now here they were. Peter was the most down to earth person she knew, so Shelby's first reaction was to turn around and see exactly how perplexed he was. He was just staring at her like he thought she was going to say something, and so she just grabbed him by the waist to get his 6'2" self out of the way.

"Okay, how does anybody else feel about surprises?" she quipped, wondering who was around right now and what they were going to say when she introduced them to her boyfriend.

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"Danny Chase," he introduces himself, holding out a hand to shake. "I've recently fallen into the Nexus for the first time myself."

Shelby shakes Danny's hand with the firm grip of someone who's spent a long time working with power tools. "Good, we can all be confused together," she says cheerfully. "No way to know for sure, but I think I ended up back here to get away from all of my job stress. It's been a long few weeks. But that doesn't explain him."

"I'm fairly sure I share the stress," Peter comments. Working on his own race team, he goes through the same rigorous schedule and challenges Shelby does, not to mention that his driver (another of her oldest friends) had gotten into a wreck just a few days before their last race. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Danny. Can I ask how you got here?"

"It's a nice thought, at least. That the multiverse cares enough to give us a break sometimes."

Danny looks toward Peter now when he replies, "I was cleaning up after a mad scientist and tripped through a doorway into the Nexus. And yet, it's not the weirdest thing I've gotten into on the job." He smiles, but sounds perfectly serious as he says, "Dealing with refugees from a cartoon world still holds the top spot."

"You can't be serious," Peter replies, but he can tell from the look on Danny's face that he absolutely is serious. His eyes flick back to Shelby, who nods slightly to confirm to him that the Nexus was a place where seemingly anything was possible. He sighs and undoes another button on his collar, guessing that he's about to be in for more than handing her tools or helping her complete an oil change.

Shelby is much better at taking the situation in stride. "That sounds like a lot," she says sympathetically. "I'm afraid we don't have much knowledge of the fantastic. I'm a driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, and Peter is a strategist for my teammate's car." A pause, having to remind herself for the billionth time that regular people do not know her sport's vernacular. "He calls the shots," she adds, almost sheepishly.

He shrugs. "Oh, I'm serious. And it was... an experience. Reality is apparently... not quite as solid around 'toons. It bends to situational humor. I'm not looking forward to a repeat, if it happens."

Danny actually does look impressed when Shelby explains what she and Peter normally deal with. It may not be as fantastical as what his own job throws at him, but...

"That sounds like you need nerves of steel, what with all the machinery moving around at high speeds. Hell of a lot of 'job stress' for the both of you."

"It has its challenges, yeah." Shelby chuckled. But if she was honest, she didn't feel them. Not in the way that Peter did. Racing 32 other cars in speeds that could surpass 200 MPH was certainly stressful and required her to be constantly aware and make moves in seconds if not less. But maybe because she had grown up in the sport and had been driving in some form since college, she saw it as a positive challenge. She had the muscle memory to know what to do and trusted her fellow drivers explicitly so she was rarely worried about anything too catastrophic.

Peter, on the other hand, was the leader of his entire team. Every decision fell on his shoulders and he had to constantly be aware of facts, figures and what other teams were doing or might do. His job was the racing equivalent of being an air traffic controller and that to her was more stressful than being in the car where she was just one piece of the puzzle. She admired that he had the quick thinking skills and calm temperament to do the job. Even now he had taken the last few moments to take a breath and start processing his situation.

"It probably sounds weird, but I'm at my calmest when I'm in the car, because that's where I just do what I know how to do with people I've spent years racing with," she says. "Peter has to stay on top of everything and he's incredible at keeping his cool no matter what happens. My strategist is a little more intense." And here her boyfriend chuckled, because Shane was more than a little intense, but that worked for him and it worked for Shelby. It had gotten them three Indianapolis 500 victories and a handful of championships.

"So how does your job work?" he asked. "It seems like you have a caseload that doesn't come around every day."

Danny nods along with Shelby's explanation -- it makes sense, really. When you've trained to be among the best at something, all the striving and preparation is aimed at the task, and actually getting to do it is like... reaching the calm center of the universe. "So, you and your boyfriend are in the same field, but you're not on the same team? Probably a smart move."

He thinks for a moment about how to answer Peter's question. While he's definitely more open about some aspects of his job, there are some things that just never go over well. (The more violent parts, to be specific.)

"For the day to day, I'm usually working information analysis. Intelligence is gathered, and we have to separate the biases from fact." Danny lets his telekinetic aura 'light up' around one hand, in a visible bright pink glow. "But I've got some field experience, so after fights between superheroes and supervillains, I'm usually part of the team sent in to clean up."

Shelby stares for a second, but not much longer than that, not wanting to be rude. She can only imagine how much cleanup is required for something on that huge of a scale. "I hope they pay you well for that," she says. "It sounds like a headache."

But Danny's earlier comment provokes what he'll probably consider the more interesting reaction. "No, he oversees the car that belongs to one of my good friends," she says. "He works with someone I've raced with on three different teams, since we were in our 20s, so it's a good arrangement." Yet it comes with a look between Shelby and Peter that he doesn't need superpowers to figure out. "We worked together at the start of my career, but that was before we dated. And a little again recently."

There was some regret there. Their original partnership in their 20s had been amazing, and while it hadn't been as successful, both of them had enjoyed it. They had assumed the same would still hold true in their 30s and that had not been the case. While they had delivered even better results, Peter hadn't been able to adjust to how much more intense Shelby was at work and the idea that the life of the woman he loved was in his hands. It was very different to just being friends and when she hadn't been so determined to get ahead, and he'd sat her down and told her that they shouldn't work together when he was more interested in being her partner off track.

"Do you get a partner?" she asked as a way of avoiding going into that. "Or I can't imagine there are many people who can do what you do."

Yep, Danny doesn't need superpowers to figure out that Shelby and Peter are an item. He thinks they're cute -- teenage him would probably complain, but adult him is mature enough to just be happy when other people have found some joy in the world.

"Superpowers aren't a requirement for my job, and there's more of us than you might think." (If there's one thing that Danny's world has in abundance, it's government agencies -- some that Shelby and Peter might recognize, like the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., but quite a few that are unique to the place, like the D.O.M.A. and the D.E.O.) "I'm never really partnered with anyone in a work context; we don't work in pairs. Members of the cleanup teams are rotated in and out, but I know a lot of them pretty well."

No mention yet of a partner in a non-work context, but Danny's open to discussing it if asked.

"Makes sense. We have the same thing in our job. You travel around the country with the same drivers and teams for half the year, you get to know each other." Of course some of her competitors she knew better than others, but there wasn't one that Shelby didn't know by name and hadn't at least introduced herself to. She had made a point of being something of an ambassador for the sport and trying to make everyone feel welcome. Now that she was in her 30s, she was one of the elder statesmen (woman?) in the league and took that pretty seriously.

She shoved her hands in her pockets. "I still don't like surprises," she muttered. "I'm assuming there's a reason we're all here at the same time, but usually when new information is dropped on me, it's never good."

"I don't know... the idea of there being a reason why we get pulled into the Nexus implies that someone or something wants us here? And I haven't heard of anyone trying to take credit for creation of the Nexus."

"I don't know if it's a someone per se or just serendipity. At least, every time I end up here, it's usually when something big has happened to me and I need a time-out." She chuckles. "I have no explanation for Peter, however. We should be home changing the oil on my car."

Her boyfriend laughs softly at that. "The non-exciting part of our lives."

"Well, hey. If my boyfriend accidentally followed me through to the Nexus -- and the only thing waiting for us back home was an oil change -- I think I'd take him on a little tour of the place. Maybe a nice date at one of the restaurants."

Danny gives a little laugh, and addresses Peter specifically. "But that's just me, and maybe Shelby's different?"

"Doing things around the house actually is a little relaxing for us." Peter chuckles, settling his hands on his hips. "When you spend half the year away from home, sometimes it's nice to only be concerned with the mundane details." Not to mention that the house itself was special to them because they'd been living together for a year or so before they'd started dating. It was like their own little bubble where they were two ordinary people and not two professional athletes.

"He has a point, though," Shelby admits with a chuckle. "When was the last dinner we went to other than the one with my parents?" Which makes him visibly cringe to recall. "I have no idea," he replies before glancing back at Danny. "I don't suppose that you'd have any recommendations." These two really were homebodies whose idea of a date was making dinner together or maybe going to a friend's house.

Danny doesn't really have a home away from work, given that he's living in a New York apartment supplied by the government agency he works for, and it's really easy for them to contact him. He's basically always on-call. But he understands the impulse to get away -- his parents, who were in the same "business" of espionage, kept a house far away from headquarters. The distance helped the feeling of retreat and recuperation.

"I think I get it," he says, "the little things make you feel more normal?"

The little exchange about dinner with Shelby's parents, even with Peter's cringe, makes Danny smile just a bit. The ease they have around each other is sweet, the sort of thing that Danny would like in a relationship of his own, and it's nice to see it in action.

"I suppose it all depends on how fancy you feel like being. I've seen some restaurants that are highly Michelin-rated, in the normal world, but when they're here they're almost empty and you have a chance of getting a table." Danny shrugs. "Or, I could give you the names of a few hole-in-the-wall little places. More relaxed dress code, bigger portions."

"Yeah, that might be a better idea. We're not really dressed for formal," Shelby admits with a chuckle. Since she was in the middle of a day off she had opted for jeans and a T-shirt (though her bias was showing; that shirt was still IndyCar related, as she repped her ex-teammate Helio Castroneves on his new Meyer Shank Racing team). Peter could likely get away with something more upscale, since at least he was wearing a dress shirt, but it would be more comfortable for them both to relax.

But at his question, her boyfriend nods a little. "Our schedule during the season is fairly regimented. A lot of travel and then once we arrive at the track, everything is tightly planned. Being at home and doing the mundane things is actually a considerable change of pace. It seems counter-intuitive, but you can't even do things like keep the fridge properly stocked because it might be a week or two before you're home again."

"We picked a challenging career." Shelby admits. She had always been going into the family business so for her she knew what to expect and didn't see any other way. "What about you, Danny? How did you get into your line of work?"

"Ah yeah, the dress code is a point," Danny says to Shelby. To Peter, he gives a nod and says, "No food in the fridge, make sure all the garbage is empty before you leave, right?"

Danny unclips his PINpoint from his belt and asks Shelby, "You've been here before, so do you have one of these PINpoint devices? I can enter information for the restaurant in my world, and have the device scan for a matching location in the Nexus." He smiles, "Well, once I know what cuisine you two are in the mood for."

He taps at the PINpoint a few times, to pull up the screen he needs for the input. "Oh, me? My parents are spies. Even when I was a kid, they taught me things they knew about the business, and then when we realized I had metahuman abilities I started training to get those under control. So... I guess I was born into it?"

"Is there a good Chinese place?" Peter theorizes. He's simply trying to think of things that they don't have in Indianapolis and aren't likely to find in St. Louis, which is where they'll be headed whenever they get out of the Nexus and back to real life.

Shelby digs her PINpoint out of her bag and chuckles slightly at Danny's explanation of his backstory. "I guess you could say the same for me, kind of," she replies. It's not at all as serious as what he does but she can relate. "My father was a racer before me, so I grew up in the business. I wasn't obligated to go into it, and in fact he made me wait a few years before I started to make sure it was what I wanted to do. But I took to it at a relatively young age. One of the things that's kind of fun is that I came up at the same time as a couple of my colleagues, and so we've gone from young kids to now adults who some of us are married and have kids. I'm not one of those people yet, but we've kind of grown up together."

[[OOC: Completely making up this idea of getting places 'ported into the Nexus on demand, haha, but hey... anything for good food.]]

"There ought to be, if the Nexus tries to keep us happy. I'm in Manhattan's Chinatown for dinner every chance I get." Danny starts rapidly typing in things like coordinates and hours of operation with one hand.

Danny grins when Shelby mentions her father being a racer. "My dad was always real excited to teach me new things. I've got a lot of fond memories of following him around." As the PINpoint starts running a scan, Danny listens to the rest of her explanation, of coming up with a group of friends. "That sounds really great, learning on the job with people around your own age. I was always the tag-a-long kid, but it would have been nice to have friends like that. Since you're all at similar life stages, there's more to relate to, right?"

The device in his hand gives a little trill, and Danny glances down at the screen. "Oh, nice. There's a version of the Dim Sum Palace from East Village in here. Or else there's King's Kitchen, if you'd like to try Hong Kong-style barbeque. I'll send the info to you, Shelby..." and he does so. Shelby's own PINpoint will make a similar trilling sound when the transfer is complete. "And then it's just like following a GPS."

"Yeah, something like that. It makes the league feel like a family, but at the same time it can be bittersweet. Some of the people I grew up with aren't racing anymore. One of them is now part of the TV commentary team, actually. So it becomes sad not seeing them around work every week. But that's what happens to all of us. We get older and end up getting replaced by younger drivers. I'll probably wind things down in the next few years myself," Shelby admits. She's only in her early 30s, but most IndyCar drivers tend to retire around 40 if not before. She'd already sort of expected to do the same so she had time to start a family and settle down before it got too late.

"Did you have anything to do later?" she offers. "You're welcome to join us. I can't say I won't ramble about next weekend's race, but Peter is a much better conversationalist than I am." The side effect of spending so much of her life focused on racing was that she was always so excited to talk about it.

"Retirement isn't as common in my field, but we do lose team members from time to time." He won't elaborate on how -- it's a violent business at times, and the topic isn't welcomed by most people. "But that's the way of it, like you said. Always someone young and hungry ready to take up the standard."

Danny looks surprised at the offer, glancing between the two of them. "I appreciate the invite, but I wouldn't want to interfere on your date night..."

"I'm not sure it ever was a date." Peter chuckles. "I mean, to Shelby, an oil change is probably romantic..." She hits him with her elbow again. It's obvious that the two have been around each other for the better part of a decade or he wouldn't be able to get away with poking fun at how much she loves anything having to do with cars.

"You knew what you were in for when you started dating me," she teased. "But no, it's no imposition. We'll probably spend some time here and then I do need to get back to work. We have just a couple of races left this season and the championship is the closest it's been in 20 years." She failed to mention that the two of them were directly competing with each other for said title - and that in her gut, she didn't think she was going to win it. She hadn't told anyone that particular feeling. "It sounds like you might benefit from a break, too, Danny."

Danny chuckles too, seeing how they tease each other. "Well, naturally. A quiet dinner with good food just can't compare to tinkering around with cars, can it?"

He smiles. "Sure, since it's not a date, I'll join you. You can even tell me about your upcoming races and who's more likely to win." (Since Danny can't know about Shelby's gut feeling, he doesn't know that he may have just brought up a fraught topic.) "And I'm sure I can recall some sort of wild story of the cleanups I've done, which will be appropriate dinner discussion..."

Luckily, since Shelby and Peter navigate for a living, it's easy to follow the provided directions to their restaurant of choice. She does give her boyfriend a look at the proposed topic of conversation but that's as much as she betrays to any jealousy. Once they've settled at the table in a cozy little Chinese place and had time to go over the menu, Shelby's all smiles again. She reminds herself she can't be mad when the other people all in question are some of her oldest friends.

"To answer your sort of question, it's probably him and my teammate Josef Newgarden," she says with a nod of her head toward Peter. "They've won five races out of the 15 this year. That's practically unheard of with the level of competition in our sport. The only reason they don't have the points lead is because of my level of consistency." She hadn't won nearly as many races, but she had a tendency to be competitive at all of them.

"There are still two races to go," Peter points out, shaking his head. He knows that five race victories - which will amount to a third of the season - is a huge advantage and that she's probably right but he has never been one to get excited about anything before it happens. Race wins and points leads can be lost in seconds. "It's been one of our best seasons, but she's right when she says the competition has been great. There aren't a lot of backmarkers this year."

"Which is what we want. We want to be pushed and challenged. Sports aren't fun if there isn't any honest competition," Shelby says. No one can win all the time and the not knowing is what makes it worth pushing themselves so hard and giving up so much. They get to be the best versions of themselves. "I'm sure you get your own kind of adrenaline rush doing what you do, Danny."

"So you're a threat even when you don't win, Shelby?" Danny asks, with a smile. He listens to Peter's reply, but two races don't seem like enough time to close whatever lead this Josef Newgarden has over the others. To Peter, Danny asks, "Backmarker? I haven't heard that term before. What's it mean?"

Danny shrugs. "I suppose I do. I wouldn't say I'm in it for the adrenaline rush, but I'd be lying if I said I don't enjoy it when it happens. The people we go after are the sort who push the envelope in all kinds of ways. Most of them are smart, and outsmarting them makes me feel accomplished."

He swirls the straw in his soda, and wrinkles his nose a little to push his glasses back up the bridge. "And, it's kind of funny when their dumb muscle is expecting no challenge from the little nerd in glasses, and I kick their ass anyway."

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shelbycobra - 2022-09-04 00:13 (UTC) - Expand

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In which Shelby brings an unexpected guest.

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DC Comics is a weird collection of universes and Danny has dealt with a lot of crap XD

and Shelby is created from a movie no one watched

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