10676/Bargain Shoppers Unite!

Bargain Shoppers Unite!
Date of Scene:	09 January 2020
Location:	Goodwill NYNJ Store and Donation Center - Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Instead of stumbling on bargains, Nick and Mary stumble on something else at the Goodwill.
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Mary Marvel

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the temperatures start to progress further and further on down in the 30s as the afternoon comes into play. A lot of people are choosing to bundle up. Coats, hats, scarves, gloves. All of that stuff is getting snatched up by many. But what does that really mean?

Summer clothes are heavily discounted. That's what. And there is one particular rocker who is banking on that as he scours the CLEARANCE clearance section of the Goodwill. It is orange tag day where anything with an orange tag is $2 or LESS. How the heck do you not look?!

Despite the sale, the store is pretty barren of people. Other than the cashier and the other store attendant putting clothes on the rack, Nick hasn't seen another soul.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary Marvel is what many would call a "clothes horse." Anything she wore was flattering to her model-level looks.
Mary BATSON, on the other hand, could not make such a claim. She was skinny, slight, with straight brown hair, brown eyes, and COMPLETELY average looks. So, definitely not a Cool Kid.

She steps into the Goodwill because classes were over for the day and she needed to find clothes. Her jeans were fraying, and she needed warmer clothes. Mary Marvel may be able to fly in deep space, but Mary Marvel isn't going to be able to deal with a cold classroom.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
There is a screech of the metal upon metal coming from the clearance section as Nick quickly slides the hangars side to side. Blue eyes rapidly flick about as he visually assesses which ones may be usable.

The screeching stops as Nick takes a hangar off the rack to look at a solid gray Tee. "Oooh."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Jeans, jeans, jeans...Oooh! A new Captain America t-shirt!
Mary wanders along the aisle, muttering to herself. It sounds a little like a running commentary. "Jeans....jeans...jeans...too small...too long...eww, this one looks like it was made for our HOUSE...jeans...jeans..."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick turns the shirt around, the smile that was forming fading as he sees a design print on the right side of the shirt back. "Dammit."

The hangar goes back onto the rack and the screeching of the hangars on metal continues once more

Screech!

So focused on the shirts, Nick doesn't notice Mary's positioning until his shirt search causes for him to bump into Mary. "Oh, Sorry."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary looks at the dark-haired man who bumped into her. She does not look cross, petulant, or put out. She smiles gives him a pleasant smile. "No worries. I wasn't looking where I was going, either." She looks back to the rack. "I need jeans. The ones I have are falling apart, and forget buying new after this last Christmas." She shrugs. "How are you?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Buying new is overrated. There's a lot of good stuff that just gets chucked over here", Nick replies, giving a smile, "I prefer shopping in places like here. Less crowded and more bang for the buck."

He glances over to the massive assortment of jeans, "Well, at least you've got a lot to pick from then."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary gave him a wry smile. "Yeah, but Some of this were made by Omar the Tentmaker, and the others are going to get me detention or blood loss to the legs. I just need to find something cheap that'll last until Spring, and then maybe I can get birthday money."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I know that feeling." Nick murmurs with a nod, glancing a bit towards the Jeans rack over in the not as discounted area, the section, not as picked clean and likely with a better ranges of sizes, "And what's your budget looking like?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary hmms. "With babysitting money...fifteen dollars. I have another couple of jobs that might be coming up. Pulling weeds and cleaning gutters."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick gives a slight nod. "Alright. Well, in that case we might want to look over in the regular price section. For the sake of your circulation, you can go over two bucks for your jeans and to shun the stylings of Omar."

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he steps away from the deep discount rack, nodding his head in the direction of the slightly pricier, but STILL cheaper than new jeans. "Come on."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary raised an eyebrow, but followed. He looked...familiar somehow. Like she should know who he is, but it wasn't ringing a bell. Of course, famous people were still people.
"Are you famous or something? You look familiar but I just can't place the face." Mary Marvel had eidetic memory and the Wisdom of Solomon, but *she* didn't need new jeans.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Oh you know, I just have one of those faces," Nick replies to the question as he leads Mary down the row of jeans. "Added bonus is this side of the store are the sizes are sorted a bit better."

Nick slows, allowing for Mary to pass him so she can dictate where the right size is located instead of him likely guessing horribly, "So just jeans?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary smiles. "I'm being rude, I guess. My name's Mary." She indicates the t-shirts. "I can't help it if I see a new superhero t-shirt. I'm a big superhero fan."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Nick." The musician supplies in exchange for Mary's name, looking to one of the shirts as he is now following. "Ah, Captain America. That's a good one. Want me to hold onto those while you thumb through?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary shakes her head. "No, I got it." She was getting an odd vibe from him. God, don't let him be one of those edgelords who are legends in their own MINDS... "Besides, I like Captain America. He's, like, one of the apex heroes. Without being a complete jerk." She looks to Nick. "What are you looking for in here, anyway?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Nothing in particular," Nick admits, "I had a lot time to kill so I figured I'd pop in to see if there was anthing in my style and size on the discount rack." He pauses, "I'm not even sure you could call Captain America a partial jerk."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary chuckles. "There are a few...but I'm too nice to call them that, even behind their backs. It ain't easy being a superhero."
BOY, is it EVER not easy.
She is about to say more, then suddenly tenses, then pounces on a relatively-new pair of jeans. "Hey! Okay...my size...looks new...and the price tag...YES! Five bucks!"
She REALLY seems to like deals on jeans.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick chuckles at Mary's enthusiasm, "And so, the honor of Goodwill has been restored. Do not underestimate how quickly people will toss perfectly good clothes into the donation bins of these stores."

He taps the side of his nose with the index finger, the rest of his hand balled up, "Also, if you don't mind a busier store and a trip, the store on the Upper East Side is where they get the REALLY good stuff."

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary looks to Nick as she folds the jeans over her arm, along with the T-shirt. "I've been there. Fake bling and designer names to go with bigger price tags. Forget it. Here, at least the clothes don't wear out too quickly. I'm going to go try these on..." And hope they fit. "...be out in a few minutes."
She heads for the fitting rooms, hoping they fit all right.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick glances around as Mary heads off to the dressing room, hearing the door open, he looks over to the entrance way to see a man, bundled up standing in the doorway, looking over to the register.

Oh...Great.

That look.

Nick backs further down the aisle, using his slighly smaller than normal stature to duck down.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary is about to take off her t-shirt when she hears something.

Mike walks directly towards That Bitch. Everyone else knew her as Elaine, but That Bitch was her REAL name.
She saw him coming (like that would help her) and looked at him. "What are you doing here, Mike? I told you this wasn't going to work out..."
"Oh, it'll work out. As long as you know what's what. You OWE me. I paid for your dinner AND your movie, and you didn't even give me a lay in my new truck. The way I see it, you owe me at least one BJ for every date we go on."
"NO...and what makes you think I'd go out with you AGAIN? All you talked about was yourself."
Mike grinned. "Because *I* am the GUY."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick straightens up, having misread the man's intent entering in. Ok it's bad but not in the way he thought. But STILL. Grabbing a few jeans off of the rack, Nick strolls up towards the counter.


"Oye!" Nick blurts out, walking towards the register, looking directly to Elaine, ignoring the other Mike. "I feel like I owe you an apology, Elaine." He states, looking to the cashier with a smile, a quick glance of the name tag allowing for him to complete the sentence, "But for the life of me, I can't find any prices on these."

He lifts up the jeans quickly, smacking Mike with the fabric as he sets the garments on the counter. "Could you tell me what they are?" He shifts his positioning, putting himself between the cashier and the other guy.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mike looks at Nick, then at Elaine. He was being ignored. And by this...this CHAD.
"Elaine, you sleeping with this guy? After all I've DONE for you?"
Elaine glances at Mike, then looks to Nick apologetically. "Sorry. SOMEONE doesn't realize he's been BANNED from this store."
Mike shoves Nick. "I KNEW it. Who you think you are, snapping up my girl?"
And that is when he pushes his coat back and Elaine sees the gun in his belt, and her face goes WHITE.

She is about to say something, but the rear of the store suddenly resonates with a sound of thunder. Maybe a car crashed into the rear of the store?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Nick is between Elaine and other Mike and there presently being a counter, the shove doesn't move Nick far. But it's sufficient to kick in a reaction. Feet twisting, he spins, almost dance like as his hand immediately swings behind Mike's head, shoving him and his face forward towards the counter. HARD.

Now as for the answer of when a Mike falls down in a Goodwill store and there are two people around to hear it, does he make a sound... They'll have to answer that later. Because that was a really loud boom.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mike hits the counter with his head turned, so his cheek is bruised instead of his nose broken. He bounces back up, drawing the gun.

And that is when the door from the rear of the store opens and SHE walks out.
The young woman has GOT to be a superheroine. The white cape, the glowing lightning bolt on her chest, and of course, the face that says she hit the pick-six in the genetic lottery. She strides forward with purpose, looking directly at Mike...

...who seems to have forgotten all about Elaine. He smiles, a rather creepy smile as he ogles the bare legs of the newcomer. "Well, well, wellll...lookit what we have here. Screw off, Elaine, this is a REAL woman. You can HAVE this Chad."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Seeing the gun, Nick moves back, shifting away from where the barrel points as he essentially orbits around the distracted Mike, gesturing to Elaine to GET MOVING. There is another shift as well, but considering the nature of the situation, Elaine is likely to not have noticed the reverse image with the non-distinctive clothing.

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mike walks towards Mary Marvel, still smiling. Maybe he's on something. This level of delusion usually involves pharmaceuticals, usually illegal ones.
"Hey there, m'lady...what's your sign?" Mike says, that creepy smile still on his face.
And then the pistol is gone. It's now in Mary's bare hand. Mike goggles at it, then at his own dislocated fingers. Mary apparently wasn't gentle about taking it.
The heroine holds up the hand with the pistol in it...then SQUASHES the gun in her fist.
"NO PASSING ZONE. Idiot." He looked to Elaine, then at...what was with THAT guy? "Someone call the cops?" She grabbed Mike's shoulder with the other hand.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Thank you," Nick replies, looking over to the Elaine who is still there. "On behalf of the other Mikes, I apologize for that dickhead. Could you make the call?"

Not waiting for a response, he walks back towards the dressing room area, shifting back as well.

"The boom sounded like it came from..." He pauses.

He looks back towards Mary Marvel, head tilting curiously.

Mary Marvel has posed:
The woman smiles as Mike tries (vainly) to get loose, realizing that he is in big trouble. "The girl ran out the back as I came in. I told her to head home." She pauses. "Miss, she did ask if you would be willing to hold her items."
Elaine gives a relieved smile. "S-Sure...no problem. Uhm, what name?"
"Mary. Same as mine, only her last name is Batson. Mine's Marvel. Mary Marvel." She looks to Mike. "I want you to understand this right now. NO ONE likes a creep." She looks back to Nick. "I apologize for the mess."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Eh," Nick shrugs, "It's not my store." With the other Mary accounted for, Nick walks over to the counter, picking up the stack of jeans he had grabbed earlier to return them to the rack." He pauses, "Did she leave them in the dressing room?"

Mary Marvel has posed:
Mary nodded. "Yes. I am sure she will be happy when she returns."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The next hour is a bit of a blur. After the cops show up and Mary leaves, Nick ends up having to make a statement.... again. Once things have calmed down, he pays for the clothes Mary left behind and heads home himself.