Participants:
| Scene Title | I'm A Marvel And I'm A DC |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | When everyone's out past when they should be, Lucille meets with a couple out of touch Endgamers, and there's a wee bit of a reunion. |
| Date | November 30, 2010 |
After a early dinner at Jaiden's, Lucille took off again. There's something about staying inside when she wants to be outside.. and ponder things and walk around.. just think in peace outside. Curfews be damned. She's being careful. In alleys, staying out of the light. Lucille Ryans is dressed in black, her dark jeans, dark top along with a thigh long black pea coat.
Her short black hair wrapped into a bun, a few strands blowing into Lucille's face every now and then. Booted feet sound on the pavement and her silver locket normally visible is shoved down under her shirt. Lola's lesson about thieves still in her mind.
Light grey eyes scan the sky above her and then the alley she's in as she makes her way slowly. She has a lot to think about. Ability-wise.. she's killed two men before. It's like she's changing slowly but surely from the happy, model who traveled the world. The talk with Jaiden resonates in her mind as she meanders around.
Just breathe. And with that.. Lucille does in fact. Breathe. She'd die if didn't, obviously. Hands that aren't gloved for once, thinking if she needs her ability she can't take the time to remove gloves. Brush a few strands of hair out of her eyes. An assuming look about her as she makes her way down the alley towards another street that's well lit. A few passerby can be seen moving pass the entrance to the alley.
There are few things Monica finds as comforting as sneaking around rooftops. It's a odd sort of quirk, but one she's picked up over her time spent crime fighting down in New Orleans. And while she might have given up the whole Batman thing when she got up to New York… well, habits never die and all that. Plus, there's always something interesting to see up here. And hey, if the government is already after you, what's the drive to obey the law, huh?
It's these people that interest her, anyway, the people who stay out after dark. Some for sinister reasons, but surely not everyone, right? Is that just the optimist in her? Perhaps. In any case, she's caught sight of Lucille's movement in the shadows and sits perched above. Just watching for now.
She has no idea that she's being watched. Not just by Monica but by another man. In the shadows he lurks, moving slowly behind Lucille before she hears the crunch of a can be smashed under his foot. The former model whirls around to a see a man of average height and weight standing there. A knife and a surly grin on his face. "Didn't ya mother teach ya to stay inside at night?" he tilts his head studying the young woman as he begins to circle her.
His bald head shines in the dim light of the alley and Lucille blinks and stiffens as she spots the man. Nobody has tried to mug her since.. well since she worked at Old Lucy's. Too bad for this guy that Lucille isn't the same person she was all those months ago.
"Seriously.. you couldn't come up with something better than that?" Said in a deadpan, expression neutral. While inside she's freaking out. It's okay though.. she feels the adrenaline beginning to pump in her system. She can take this guy, it's only one of the-. A shatter of glass can be heard as another man makes his presence known. Holding a bottle that he just hit against the wall. Glaring at Lucille and waving his jagged weapon. "Give us the goods." Lucille blinks. "Goods?" her gaze goes from one man to the other. Her hand snaking behind her back to rest on the pistol she has there in her waistband. That's Baby Love, don't make her bring Baby out to play.
And hey! There's a third body suddenly as Monica ninjas her way down from the roof, landing in a bit of a crouch behind the guy with the broken bottle. So she has a flare for the dramatic. She only stays there a moment before she straightens up and levels a spinning kick at the guy's head.
She must be in a serious mood. No quips from her today! But she is quick about kicking this guy's ass. Which does leave Lucille with just the one. And an ally, apparently.
The lack of street-lamps in the alley protects from the roving patrols enforcing the curfew, but muggers and vigilantes aren't the only things hidden by the shadows. Another watches the situation, silent and unseen yet poised to act if it's necessary.
As Monica leaps down from above, it doesn't seem to be.
Holy shit what?
Lucille jumps as her ally jumps into the alley to help her. As Monica kicks the guy in the head, he yelps and falls to the ground. Quickly scrambling to grab something, anything to attack Monica with. He throws a garbage lid at her and charges. His head spinning.
The other man begins to charge Lucille who begins to pull her firearm from behind her, when he crashes into her and puts his hands around her neck. If you can't steal.. kill? The dark haired woman gasps and tries to smack him off of her, legs flailing out and about her.
Closing her eyes, she thinks back to what's she learned. You have to stay calm, think/. Control your bodies' movements. With that lesson in her head, Lucille's eyes snap open and her hands snap forward clutching the man's face. Her light grey eyes, swirl to a golden color as she coughs a bit and then slowly stands. The man frozen in place as she does whatever she is doing to him. Spinning him around, she grins darkly as her finger tighten around his face from behind and he begins to yell as she growls, barring her teeth at his back.
While the man yells, vomit spews from his mouth. Coating the alley wall in front of him, his body shaking and twitching. He continues to vomit, as if he can't stop himself. His eyes turning red and his skin an ashen color. Lucille's eyes flare hot gold as the veins around her eyes, reaching to the back of her head become visible and they are black as night. Her gaze on nothing else but the man in front of her. Fingers white from pushing onto his face so hard.
Monica ducks down to miss that lid, and when the man charges, she pops back up to hit him in the gut with one hand, and grab his throat with the other. And as she's shoving her guy against the wall, too, she can't help but look over the spectacle just down the way. …gross.
But she looks back towards her lowlife, giving him a stare for a moment. "Yeah, I think you might wanna run," is what she says, pulling him away from the wall and giving him a shove in the opposite direction of Lucille and her magic fingers.
"You can let him go now." A whisper rasps through the length of the dirty alleyway with no discernable point of origin, that is unless one is sharp enough to witness the patterns of shadow moving along the wall - crawling up where patches of light once were, reflected off bits of glass or windows, drawing closer to where Lucille's fingers dig into the man's face.
"I think the fight has gone out of him… out of him…" An echoing, coiling hiss of words. "…and bodies always draw attention."
Monica's lowlife takes one look at Lucille and his partner and quickly runs down the street and out of sight. He knows he's bitten off more than he can chew. "Crazy fucking freaks!" he yells out as he flees. This is why he's leaving town damnit.
It's as if Lucille doesn't hear the disembodied voice and for a few seconds longer she holds onto the guys face. Before with a snarl, she breaks her hold and slams his face into the wall. The man's coloring returns to normal as soon as her touch is gone but he probably won't be waking up anytime soon. She really did crack him against the wall hard. He crumbles to the floor and Lucille uses her feet to push him behind a dumpster.
Shoulders heaving up and down as she breathes hard and tries to steady herself. When she looks towards the shadow and Monica, her eyes still glow that hot golden color. The veins slowly fading back to being invisible beneath her skin and her eyes slowly returning to normal. "Thank you." She breathes out to Monica with a dip of her head. Body shaking just a bit. That took a lot out of her, for sure.
"Yeah, sure," Monica says to the thanks, nodding a bit, "Although you look like… you can handle yourself fine…" Vomit everywhere. But the shaking, that gets her to move over there, putting a hand on Lucille's back. "You look like you could use a place to sit down that's a bit cleaner than all this…" And that's when her attention moves to the voice, her free hand moving to her hip. "I only know rooftops," is her comment, as far as where's a good place to be right now that isn't here.
"Up, then." A whispered suggestion from the alley's shadows, "The fire escape." It's a rickety thing, all rusted metal edges, but it does go up. And the national guard and police don't patrol the rooftops, usually.
With a nod towards Monica, Lucille steadies herself and jumps to the first rung of the ladder on the fire escape. Her breathing labored but her body moving gracefully. It's almost like she's in gymnastics practice again. Swinging her body up and climbing up towards the roof. It takes a little bit of time but when she reaches the roof, she lays back on the surface. Breathing deeply and staring up towards the sky.
"Did that really just happen?" she asks herself before shaking her head and sitting up. Crossing her legs, she does need to rest for a minute. And she also needs.. food. Ripping two energy bars out of her coat pocket. She tears into the first one, her teeth working hard to chew that down so she can eat the other. By now her eyes have faded back to their natural grey color.
"Thanks again." She says to Monica. "I shouldn't have been walking around.. but I needed to clear my head." She admits softly as she munches on the energy bar. She doesn't offer it to anyone. She really needs them.
Monica follows her up, taking the simpler, slower route just in case the shaky gal falls off or something, but she hops up onto the roof a second after Lucille, and comes to sit down next to her. "Walking around New York City at night alone as a girl has never been a good idea," she says, her smile crooked, "But moreso now. You okay?"
A tenebrous shape rises up along the door that leads into the building proper, bulging outwards before resolving into the shape of a man - midnight black shading into colour moment by moment until Richard Cardinal stands upon the rooftop with them. Black BDUs are worn beneath a black jacket with the Redbird Security Logo on the sleeve, black boots to match. Dark shades despite the hour. He's looking proper paramilitary tonight, although there're no weapons in evidence.
"Better hope your old friend from N'awlins doesn't find out you're roaming the rooftops," he offers with a quick smile flashed over towards Monica, then he looks to Lucille, one brow raising a little, "Your ability takes a lot out've you, looks like. Take your time, relax. Eat."
"Hah, it's not safe for anyone to be around the city at dark now." Lucille agrees as she polishes off the first energy bar and starts on the second. "I'll be fine. Due to alternating his body chemistry, it saps my own naturally. I just need to eat thanks to my increased metabolism, which is fine with me. I don't have to worry about weight going up and down. The more I get the hang of it, the less downtime I'll have later, I figure. There's also the fact that there won't be any lasting effects of what I did to him. So, I'm fine and he'll be fine. As long as he gets his head checked when he wakes up." She's rambling, about her ability. You can tell she's been studying and reading up.
"I meet two girls from New Orleans in one night?" she chuckles and shakes her head up at the sky. "Ironic." Yes, she's talking about Lola. "Though the other one was a Cajun. A tough one." She says as she eats her energy bar and then offers her name. "Name's Lucille. And from the looks for your ability.. shadowmorph.. what was the name.. Obtenebrative Transubstan.." her trails off as she sees the logo on Cardinal's shirt. "Well, I'll be damned." She whispers to herself, audible to the others on the roof with her though.
"My friends from N'awlins are down a peg on the ladder of who I worry about finding me up here. Although, I suppose it's six of one, half a dozen of the other," Monica babbles a bit, too. But she looks over at Cardinal, letting out a bit of a sigh before she just steps right over to hug the man. After all, it's been a while since she's seen him! And a harrowing time it was. She sniffles a bit, but damnit, she's not gonna cry. Hopefully.
And when she lets him go, she doesn't quite look up at him, opting instead to straighten his jacket some. Fussing. But she looks over to Lucille, her head tilting a bit. "I'm Monica. Is it just me or have you been readin' Suresh's book a little too much?" At least it comes with a bit of a smile, that accusation.
There's a moment's surprise that shows in Cardinal's expression as Monica steps over for a hug. After a moment's stillness, he returns it, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and leaning in closer, murmuring, "…should've stayed at the building on the eighth, damnit. Glad to see you're alright." The hand against her shoulder falls down away from her as she pulls back as well, and he clears his throat, turning to shoot a vaguely amused look towards Lucille.
"It's a bit've a fucking mouthful, isn't it? Suresh must've named it. Guy just loves words with eighteen syllables."
"Those and any others on Evolved abilities and genetics.. and the human body and it's functions.." Lucille shrugs lightly as she pulls gloves out from her coat pocket and tugs them on. She watches the interactions between Cardinal and Monica. Oh, they know each other. "It's a mouthful but I can handle it." She grins and ties her now, loose hair into a ponytail. Then she's climbing to her feet and dusting herself off. "Your name?" she tilts her head towards Cardinal and light grey eyes look him up and down. She doesn't bring up Redbird yet. But she'll have to before they all leave.. her sister's there.
"So I know your ability.. and is yours just to be super kick ass and help people?" she asks Monica with a light chuckle. One hand going into her pocket as she finishes the last energy bar. Still feeling a little woozy. "It's like after I manifested.. I just started meeting you all." It's the truth, she didn't know that many Evolved.. until she became Evolved. Weird huh?
That murmur gets a breathy, brief laugh from Monica and she shakes her head a bit, "I wish I could have, I really do. But you know I wouldn't have in any case," she says back to him with an almost sad little smile there. "It's sort of a long story, but I got arrested and stuck on Roosevelt. In October." Which was before all that child pimp killing and time traveling heroism stuff. Which means it is all Hiro's fault, of course.
"Didn't you know? You can't join the club until you manifest," she says to Lucille. "My power's ah… Adoptive Muscle Memory, is the technical term. I never read the book, really. Do I get a chapter?"
"In Oct…" Wait, he'd seen Monica since then! Realization lands after a few more moments, and Cardinal grimaces a touch, "…Nakamura." One gloved hand lifts upwards, his fingers splaying out to rub against his forehead for a few moments in an attempt to push away the beginnings of a headache that the very idea plants as a seed within his skull. After a moment, it's brushed away. "Anyway. Glad you're alright…"
A sweep of that hand, then, over in the direction of the alley as he looks back to Lucille, his voice questioning, "So what exactly did you do to that asshole in the alley, anyway? Kind've messy."
"Oh! If I showed you how to do a backhand tuck and then handspring, you'd be able to do it. Like that." She snaps her fingers and nods her head. "Handy skill." Not skill.. as much as genes. But hey. "Lola was just trying to warn me.. I should have stayed at the garage." She sighs and blows a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Nice moves there Monica." Then her gaze fixes on Cardinal, "Nice.. watching?" she grins wickedly and digs her booted foot into the rooftop. Okay.. someone is trying way to hard to be dark, mysterious and handsome. Okay, she'll give him the handsome bit. Hawt, actually. In a.. you shouldn't want to shag me.. but if we must.. hey.. I'll do it. Yeah, that's it.
It's only fair that she shares her ability. Since she knows theirs. "I just gave him an extreme case of nausea. I thought putting him into shock might be a little too much. He's just an idiot." She shrugs lightly and stares down at her hand. It still amazes her, what she can do. "I can do other things, I'm not sure of all I can do. But.. manipulating the bodies functions is the easiest explanation.
"Redbird.." she trails off again and then leans forward to examine Cardinal's logo again. "That's where my sister is being cared for right now. You know Delia? I've been meaning to try and get over there and see her.. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning." She says softly, the thought of her dream wandering sister brings a light frown to her face.
"Yeah," Monica says to that grimace, "And believe me, I made that exact face when I woke up in the hospital to armed guards. But it wasn't really his fault. He didn't know." And she was a little to… smashed to pieces to give him a heads up. "I'm glad you're alright, too. Saw Abby, she's okay, too. Haven't seen anyone else yet…"
When Lucille mentions Redbird, though, Monica tilts her head a little and looks over at Cardinal curiously. "You know, it is gettin' harder and harder to believe that you're not building a harem over there," she says, teasing a bit.
"Delia?" The name's repeated in startled tones by Cardinal, looking from Lucille and back to Monica, "The dreamwalker? We have her…? Wait, being cared for? What the hell happened to her?"
That's the one problem with keeping one's head low for a little while. Little things can slip through the cracks, unnoticed. This appears to be one of those things. There's a certain urgency in his tone, forehead furrowing into deep lines as he looks between the pair. The comment about a 'harem' bringing a snort of breath, "Jaiden'd kill me."
Whoa.. Delia boinked this hottie? Not fair.. not at all.
Lucille's eyes widen momentarily and then she's laughing. "So you do know my sister." Luc blinks and looks closely at the pair. Taking them in a new light. "This is a small fucking world." Okay so they didn't bang.. good. Waving her hands in the air, Lucille looks from Monica to Cardinal. "Well.. my sister is in coma. Traveling around in people's dreams. Jaiden has her at Redbird being cared for." She grits her teeth and nods. Her sister seems to get around. People know her.
"She'll come back to her body soon.. she overdid it I guess. Not being too careful with her ability." she says without much enthusiasm. She doesn't really see how.. or when. But she hopes it's soon. "You guys know Abby too?" Her gaze flicks over to the city skyline as she thinks about the southern woman. "I use to work at Old Lucy's.. before it went to hell." She misses that place sometimes. It's where she started the process of getting her life together. Memories.
The fact that Cardinal doesn't know what's going on as much as she doesn't know makes Monica blink in surprise. "Wait. You mean you don't know what's going on? What's going on?" That latter meant for his situation, rather than Delia's. But she does listen to Lucille, too, because she's got to get back into the loop somehow.
"She's in… a coma." Cardinal regards Lucille for a long moment, and then he brings a hand up, covering his face as he groans against his palm. His head tilts back as he mutters to the leather of his glove, "I finally find a dreamwalker and she's in a coma. Doesn't that just fucking figure. God. God is laughing at me. This is what I get for not going to confession for ten years."
His fingers rub down over his mouth and chin, falling away, his head shaking just a little to Monica's question. "I've been… out at the old headquarters working some things out," he replies evasively, "Been a little out've touch. Liz and Peyton're handling things back at Redbird."
The question from Lucille brings a faint snort of good humor, "Of course I know Abigail. She's a good friend."
The oldest Ryans girl's body stiffens at Cardinal's statement. "What do you mean, you finally find a dreamwalker, what were you planning on using my sister for?" Eyebrows raise, she's suspicious and she's a big sister. They do that sort of stuff. Lucille Ryans places a hand on her hip and listens to what the two are talking about. They're running some sort of operation? Secret stuff huh?
"Abby.. was a good boss." She hasn't seen her in a while but.. that's to be expected. Old Lucy's blew up.. she went back to Europe. "Fuck." she wears in French and shakes her head. This is starting to make her head hurt. Everyone is more connected then she thinks. "I've been assured by Jaiden that she's safe at Redbird?" It's better to ask these people as well. She asked Jaiden, but she has to be sure.
Monica lifts her hands in a bit of a placating gesture, "Hey hey, don't worry. 'Use' isn't — He's a nice guy, seriously! Your sister is perfectly safe. Redbird is a security firm, after all, I mean, where is a safer place, right?" She smiles a bit there, friendly and so far from Cardinal's mysterious nature it isn't even funny.
"Speaking of it, I suppose that means I gotta ask Pey and Liz if I've still got a job, considerin' the arrests and… everything." Liiike being a fugitive. But to Cardinal, she looks up at him, her hand taking hold of his jacket again. "You're takin' care of yourself, right?" There's no judgment in her tone, everyone deserves a break, after all, she's just worried about him.
"She's as safe there as she would be anywhere. There's very little risk of a government raid — she's certainly safer there than camping out with the Ferry," Cardinal assures her with a slow shake of his head, fingers scratching under his chin as he considers how to answer her first question. "There's a man in a coma," he says, finally, "A man I need very badly to talk to. I can't get a telepath in to see him, but a dreamwalker should be able to make contact from a distance. Assuming your sister can find her way back to her body, she'd be perfect."
He flashes a rogue's grin to Lucille, "Not like I'm going to experiment on her or anything. I'm not Institute. I just need a favor."
Then there's a tugging on his jacket, and he looks back to Monica. He hesitates before answering her, which is telling. "I'm alright." Another pause, "You free tomorrow? I could use some company on my way up north."
"Better not be. I'd have to.. hurt you." She says giving Cardinal a feral grin and then shaking her head. Is she making friends? Nah.. too soon. But sill awesome. "When she gets back to her body.. give her at least two weeks before you ask her to do that okay?" she gives Cardinal a hard look. Let her sister rest for a little bit when she gets back, she'll deserve she's sure.
"Institute.. they're mucking with people's dreams too." She says softly, she doesn't mention the dream that she had a few nights ago with the big detective guy. "They're looking for her too." Her other hand comes out of her coat pocket and she uses it to withdraw her silver locket, zipping it back and forth on the chain, she needs it right now. It's like it anchors her to reality.
She listens to Cardinal speak about going up north.. hmm she wonders what's up there? Shrugging her shoulders, none of her business. She waits for the two to finish speaking before she says anything else.
"Mmhmm. You men," Monica says, but that smile is pretty indulgent. She lets his jacket go to put her hand on her hip as it cocks out to the side. "Tomorrow? Yeah. I'm good for a road trip. I wanna talk to you about how good you are these days at your old job. I might need some help with getting some… stuff for the Lighthouse Kids. The Eighth wasn't good to them either." Monica's heart; bleeding all over your shoes since 1986.
"I keep in practice." A smile tugs up at the corner of his lips at the question, Richard's head shaking ever so slightly to Monica, "We can talk tomorrow…" The smile fades, though, at the mention of the Institute, his expression going cold as he looks over to Lucille. Whatever darker emotion there isn't aimed at her, but at the organization mentioned.
"They are? There was someone else in the dream…" He trails off, then looks to Monica, "Stop by Redbird. Make sure they know that Broome's people are looking for her. If they don't know where she is, she should be safe, so…"
"Keep it quiet. Both of you."
Lu's inner rebel/fuck you attitude tries to break free as Cardinal tells her to keep quiet about the Institute.. well duh. Rolling her eyes, the young woman looks back out towards the city. "My dad already advised me on that." She states and frowns as she thinks about her father and what he must be doing back on the island. Probably freezing his ass off.. or making out with Lynette. She hopes it's the second, honestly.
"We don't know if they can trap her mind in someone though, using another dreamwalker.. so she might not be safe. Which is why getting her back to her body is a high priority." Lu's frown deepens as she thinks about her sister more. It's like when she's with her family, she can't wait to get away.. but when they're all separated. She can't wait for them to get back together. She misses her family.
"Don't worry. Who's Delia? I don't even know," Monica says, firing the man a salute. "And I'll let the others know. It'll be nice to be able to crash in a room of my own again, too." And in a bed to boot, holy moly.
"Could… a telepath help find her?" She looks between Cardinal and Lucille there. She's pretty much useless on the mental battle front, but hey can fret like nobody's business.
"The only other dreamwalker I know went insane and got herself shot," Cardinal admits, hand rubbing at the nape of his neck in frustration, "I don't exactly know a lot about mental abilities like hers… I suppose it's possible that a telepath could help her find herself. S'pose Aric could give it a try, or if he's not skilled, maybe Kaylee… or Matt…"
"If she's leaving any kind of mental trail after herself.. then maybe a telepath could track her to the next person whose dream she is going to invade, not sure." Lucille says with a shake of her head. Her eyes alight talking about how to get her sister back to her body.
Not knowing any of the people they are talking about. Lucille shrugs her shoulders and turns her head out towards the city. "So what are you guys, The Avengers?" She doesn't know many comics.. so that's the best she can do. "Or the X-Men actually.." she muses a finger tapping her chin. It seems that way to her. All these damn mutants and secret organizations.. and New York City.
"What? No no no," Monica says to Lucille, waving a hand. "We are way too cool for Marvel. We are dark and mysterious and brooding. It is DC all the way." She is totally cool, obviously. But she turns to Cardinal again, her hands spreading helplessly. "The mental stuff's a mystery to me, too. But maybe if it was someone who knows what they're doing…"
"No offense to the A-man, then, but you'll want Kaylee or Matt," Cardinal suggests with a subtle shake of his head to Monica, "When you stop off at Redbird, pass on word with that suggestion too…" Then he's looking at the two with a smirk as they come up with comparisons to comic books in such a way that he finds himself reminded of Magnes's tendency to do the same thing.
"We aren't heroes," he says quietly, "We just try to do what it says in the logo, is all."
Redbird Security Solutions: We Protect Your Future.
"Just basically.. heroes." Lucille shakes her head chuckling at the two. "Although not your regular superheroes with spandex and huge tits.. and big egos. Right?" She's laughing as she brushes another strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Anyone want to walk me home?" she asks with a tilt of her head, eyes on Cardinal. Yes, she's looking at you shadow man. "Unless, you guys like being in the freezing cold all night." She smirks and arches an eyebrow. It's time for hot coco! Plus, she doesn't want Jaiden super worrying. He might start combing the streets for her. She could just call him, but whatever.
"Don't try to argue with him, he's got a complex about admitting he's a good guy." Monica looks over at Cardinal, her head tilting a bit. "I'll stay at Redbird tonight, where do I find you tomorrow?" Her gaze slides over to Lucille, though, and she smirks a little. "The cold ain't so bad. But I'll walk you home. Or, if you want, I can bring you over to the office. See your sister."
"I've got the old headquarters running, just come on by in the afternoon and we'll hit the train," Cardinal suggests with a tilt of his chin to Monica, stepping away from the door and heading for the building's edge, "Get her home - or wherever - safe, alright? Both of you stay out've the way of the jackboot patrol."
"Make sure you stay out of the light, shadow man." Lucille chuckles and walks back over to the fire escape. She rather go down that way then down through the stairs. Chance of running into people. Her eyes close briefly before she swings down, expecting Monica to follow after her.
She's sure been meeting some strange new people since she's returned to the island. But then.. she's strange too now, isn't she?