13175/Homecoming Lantern

Homecoming Lantern
Date of Scene:	03 May 2021
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	After returning to Earth, Jessica Cruz reconnected with her best friend Drake Winters. After a chat, the two went to get some pancakes.
Cast of Characters:	Green Lantern (Cruz), Slipstream

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Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
A green light shines from the sky as Jessica finally returns to her home after over a year. She lands and sighs softly, letting herself in as she looks around. Fortunately, she made sure there was no perishable food in the fridge to stink up the place as she just flops down - then sees if Drake's cellphone had the same number as she calls him to let him know she's back.

Slipstream has posed:
As the phone rings, Drake swipes it off his desk and taps the screen. He is currently at 'home' in front of his desk, working on some homework for college. "Hey there, who's this?" He asks as he gives a spin around in his chair a few times before he stops and goes back to taping on the keyboard with one hand as he is compiling some code for a new map he was building for a current Call of Duty game.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz sighs softly. "So glad you haven't changed your number. This is Jessica Cruz. I'm back in town... would you like me to come over?" she asks. "My housae is rather.... ... ..." She looks around. "Dusty."

Slipstream has posed:
Jerking his head up as he hears the voice, Drake blinks a few times, then squints. "Oh. I don't live in the same place anymore. I moved in with the Avengers. I'm on the A team now. Sorta. I mean, I do recon for them and backline support. But I'm on the team. So, they moved me in. I'm just working on some .. " He stares at the screen, then taps it off with the end of his pencil. "Work. Can't you like green light magic yourself a huge dustpan and broom?" He says with an amused tone. "Where you been at?"

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz sighs. "Oa for a while - then needed to do some stuff in Sector 666. The Red Lanterns were getting uppity for a while and they needed support. There's a tenuous truce now so I'm back." She sighs softly. "By 'dusty', I mean 'cluttered'. It's not suitable. Maybe meet somewhere public?" she asks as she shakes her head, looking around, then steps into her backyard.

Slipstream has posed:
"Oh, cool. That sounds like an adventure." Drake says as he puts the pencil down, then saves the program by tapping a few keys on the board, even if the screen is off. He heads to his closet to take out his Avenger's bomber jacket, then taps Snowball on the head so that she wakes from her charging dock. He reconnects her to his holster once he slips it on over his back, then goes about mussing his hair up in a mirror. "We can meet, sure. Are you okay?" He asks as he puts her on speaker, carrying her to the bathroom so he can hunt down his toothbrush.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz sighs softly. "Yeah - I'm fine. It was just... rough. Red Lanterns aren't the most pleasant of folks. IT's like... an army of Hulks that can spew napalm at will - some of them can make constructs too, but it's not a common thing with them. Central Park?" she suggests, eyebrow raised as she begins flying in that direction.

Slipstream has posed:
"Sure, I can meet you there. I'll be over soon." Drake says as he taps the phone off, then slips it into his pocket. He heads down the stairs and into the garage, where he will pop into his car and make the drive over. He currently has a white Tesla coupe of a few years ago. He pings her with his location to her phone so that she knows where he is and how far out he will be.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods as she was already there. She landed in a remote part of the Park and disengaged her ring so she is wearing a gray tanksop and capris as she heads over to sit at a bench, as she pings back, sighing happily. It'll be nice to see a friendly human face once more. Guy doesn't really count - after all, he never quite forgave her for puncihing him in the face that one time during training.

Slipstream has posed:
Once the car arrives and self parks, Drake pops out and locks it with a 'boop' of his fob. He makes his way to the park, tapping Snowball on the head so that she dismounts and flies forward, lighting the path with her faceplate. He gives her a ping on his phone via text to let her know that he's 'here' so to speak. Once he finds her, he lifts a hand up and makes his way over. "Hey." He says as he gives her a quick glance over, ensuring she has all of her limbs still. He does as well.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz smiles softly as she does look over you, then gets up and gives you a hug. "It's been too long," she states softly as she retreats to sit down. "So - how is the Avengers going?" she asks, as she isn't really caring much anymore about the web of scarring on her right arm. "So glad I'm home."

Slipstream has posed:
Leaning in to return the hug, Drake gives a smile. "Yeah, it's been awhile. Avengers is going good. It's intimidating. Being around the big dogs seems so surreal at times but they're a great group of guys. I really owe a lot to Mister Stark for giving me the opportunity." He watches Snowball float around in her sentry mode, giving the robot a smile. "It's always good to be home. I was for the last year on the Legion's cruise ship. We went into deep space a few times, fought aliens, hung out on planets. It was really fun."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods. "Just hope you stayed away from Sector 666," she muses as she raises her right hand, creating an emerald construct duplicate of Snowball to float around with the real one. "That's a bad area." She hmmmmms softly. "I do wish I could meet Iron Man sometime. I suppose I could arrange it when in uniform...."

Slipstream has posed:
"Nah, we didn't go there. It was more like Milky Way stuff. Hung out near Saturn, went into the next galaxy over and popped over on some planet that smells like farts." Drake says as he watches Snowball twirl around with the other construct. "You could meet him, sure. I can set you up if you want. He's a busy guy but he makes time now and again when he has an opening on his cal. He's running a whole corporation and the Avengers, so it's a bit tough for him."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods slowly. "I can imagine. I bet my editor gave up on me for that next novel. I should probably contacdt the publishing house and say that I didn't fall off the planet..." She hesitates. "Well, I can't say that, can I? Just that I'm back and ready. Have some neat ideas for the next book. I bet I still have some fans."

Slipstream has posed:
"Who knows, right? I'm sure I still got fans in the video game world, even if I don't play anymore." Drake says as he leans back on the bench with a grin. "And technically you did fall off the planet, so it's not a terrible excuse. I take it they don't know about the superhero gig that you do, huh?"

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz smiles softly. "I do try not to advertise things. Though it would be good ratings..." She hesitates. "Maybe that would be a good way to come out and be noticed. Hmmmmm." She clicks her tongue. "But then people would just want my books because it's superhero related, not due to my talent." She shrugs. "It's a conundrum. I bet that when you played Overwatch, you didn't advertise your heroics." She smiles as Construct-Snowball twirls in a circle in front of the real one.

Slipstream has posed:
"The American dream is to get paid, right? Who cares at this point how you get those dollars stacking up. I'm on an Avenger salary now which pays way better than video games and has better insurance." Drake says as he stretches his arms up and over his head. "Turned twenty-one also recently. So that's kinda cool. Didn't think I'd make it that long with my goofy powers and all, but, here I am. Not dead."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods slowly. "But you sorted out your powers issue, haven't you? They're not still making you ill?" she asks as she gazes back at you in concern. "Or am I misremembering? It's been a while. I had to stay focused on the mission or else the lack of focus could be my undoing."

Slipstream has posed:
"Nope, they're still killing me." Drake says as he holds up his left arm to reveal the bracelet. It's gone through a few revisions since then. "But it's got a lot better since then. I can push myself harder now, and I've got to the point I barely feel it. It takes a lot now to trigger the red is dead. Mister Stark is a genius and really pulled through for me to the best of his ability. Who knows, maybe one day it'll get fixed, but until then, I get to rock this fancy bling."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods. "If I recall correctly, Iron Man himself was in a similar situation - that reactor in his chest is literally keeping him alive. It was in his biography - something about a bunch of shrapnel?" She hmmmmms softly. "Maybe I could take you to Oa someday. The Guardians, as annoying and condescending as they are, are really brilliant."

Slipstream has posed:
"I dunno. I'm kinda enjoying my feet on the ground at the moment. The Legion just got back into 'town' so to speak. I saw Mon-El the other day ... being chased by a bounty hunter named Gigas. Looks like Glorith is at it again. So, not sure how long he'll stick around for." He says as he tucks his arms back behind his head. "But yeah, Iron Man was in a similiar boat. I think his chest is fixed though, but the arc reactor is still powering his suit."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz hmmmmms softly as she consinders. "Yeah... but the offer's still on the table to go to Oa someday. Anyway." She hmmmmmms softly as she gazes at you. "Funny that we were boht so far from home near at the same time, huh?"

Slipstream has posed:
"Well, you always had trouble staying grounded." Drake says with a hint of a smirk on his face. "But I'm glad to be home. I'm not much for space life even if it was a fun adventure and I got to hang out with all the guys. I miss the concrete of New York under my feet."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz shrugs. "I like space. It's not as crowded. Sometimes I can be all by myself for days at a time - I've even been making some notes for a new book but I really should compile it all together and see if I have anything." She smiles. "Would you care to go out for dinner, or do you have plans?"

Slipstream has posed:
"I don't have any plans. I was spending the night by myself just doing some work on the computer. I can hang out for a bit if you want." Drake says as he taps his wrist communicator to summon Snowball back to him. The little robot floats over his head docks once more upon his back. "What were you in the mood for?"

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz has the construct-copy return with the real Snowball and dismisses it. "Something that's very normal, human, and not squirming at all. Probably... pancakes!" she chirps. "The last week, I reamed of a tall stack of pancakes...." She licks her lips.

Slipstream has posed:
"You want pancakes this late at night?" Drake says as he shifts his jaw in thought. "I guess we can go to IHOP. They got a twenty-four hour one in Times Square." He hops up to his feet and gives a long stretch of his body before he drops his arms down at his sides to let them sway back and forth. "How many was on that stack? Six?" He says with a grin as he starts for the car that he parked. "I can drive."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz shrugs. "Oh - right. Night. I'm still on Oa time and they run a 27-hour clock. It's not bedtime till like 5 in the morning." She then smiles. "Driving sounds good - haven't been in a car in a long time. I don't even have one anymore." She smiles as she heads after Drake towards the car.