13329/Got Milk

Got Milk
Date of Scene:	19 May 2021
Location:	Holy Ghost Church, Clinton
Synopsis:	Talk with Cloak and Dagger ended with a resolution
Cast of Characters:	Beast, Dagger, Cloak
Tinyplot:	Milk Cartons

---

Beast has posed:
It's been weeks since the showdown at the warehouse with the Bobs. Time enough for wounds to heal, time enough for kids to be evaluated at least. But not time enough for Henry McCoy to forget about what occurred. Sometimes, he can procrastinate like it's a professional sport and this has been one such a situation -- do you speak to the people on the ground, do you try and do your own footwork? How much help do they want from essentially institutional hero help?

So he almost went down to the church multiple times and tonight finally did it. No convertable in this part of town, Hank's driven one of his classics, but one of the old ones; a beat up General Lee, because who doesn't like that car who likes american muscle? He parked it under street lights where there's a few operational cameras though, then heads toward the Church, hoodie, jeans, oversized sneakers and all.... to find the Cloak and the Dagger.

Dagger has posed:
The church sits within the pool of shadows of Hell's Kitchen, lonely and forgotten. The rain overnight found it's way through the cracks in the old battered roof and have left multiple puddles everywhere on the floor, followed by a musty scent. A tarp has been set up to catch most of the water, but it's put together half-assed and there has been some spillage. It's at least cut down on the moisture.

Tandy is dressed in a baggy Xavier sweater and a pair of jeans, rooting through a box of clothes that just came back from the laundromat. She is folding things up, taking stock of what she has that isn't torn or burnt. She lets out a heavy breath. "Hey, Ty', do you want to do a hotel tonight? We can just .. borrow a room for the night. I really want a bed." She says in a soft mutter.

Cloak has posed:
From the storms the night before brought in more than just rain, and Cloak is just checking on some scavenged bits of wood and even rusted aluminum sheeting over one particularly large spot that are covering holes forming in the ceiling. Neither of them is a handyman and it shows.

"We still need to find you someplace better to stay than this. It worked as a base of operations, but you need somewhere sheltered. Safe. Not where... /things/ like that Venom can come oozing in." Says the man from the rafters before he disappears and reappears down by his partner. "We're making dangerous enemies - and friends - Tandy. We can't stay here forever and not have the wrong person come knocking."

Beast has posed:
"Occasionally, I'd wager, the right person trots on by though, once in a blue moon," Beast calls that from the entrance of the church, sniffing the air and looking up and over the place with a wrinkled nose. "Either of you have a hammer and some four inch nails?" he asks, peering up at the ramshackle patching up, gesturing up at the beams. "Corregated iron, few nails properly put into that beam up there, it at least wouldn't leak any more."

He ambles closer, giving a nod here and there. "I couldn't help noticing you've got a bit of rising damp here," he offers with a grin "...ahhhhh... how have you been?"

Dagger has posed:
"Tyrone, I'm going to be fine. This is our home now, better or worse. If our enemies come to seek us out here, it just means less work for us, and they're in the perfect place to beg for forgiveness when we punish them for their sins." Tandy says firmly as her hands bleed a bit of light as she squeezes them together. "But once in awhile, a night or so, I don't think it's a big deal to just find somewhere else to rest and recover. Take a normal shower, use a real toilet instead of the Mickey D's down the street. But this is where we make our stand.."

Her voice trails off as she can hear Hank, then glances over towards the large blue mutant. "Oh. Hey there, Beast." She says as she gives a shake of her hand to ward the light away. "Um.. no, we don't have any of those things. It won't rain all the time. It's fine. The back room is dry and we can use that. We're fine. How are you? Rogue and Kurt dropped by earlier."

Cloak has posed:
"Fine. Tonight we'll find a place." Cloak says, sounding dissatisfied but he's not about to argue with her. Not when there's someone at the door.

His head turns to look towards Henry as he comes through the door and there's a frown from the shrouded man.

"Unless you can find it out in those alleys, we don't have it. These are more to keep the trash out than the rain. Nothing stops the water. Other than that, we're as we always are."

He leaves Tandy to speak to the mutant while he walks over to the barrel that simmers with coals. What looks like a broken scrap of pallet is picked up and jammed down into the coals to let it catch and add a little more heat to ward off the damp even if it's no concern to him.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy chews on his cheek a moment, glancing up and across the leaky roof once again. Stop it, Hank. Stop. Move on from the urge to use your hands practically. He shoves the offending hands into the front pocket of his hoodie, to stop the urge. "I'll have to see what I can scrounge one day," DAGNABBIT. You and me, we will have words later, self.

"Hello Tandy, Tyrone," he nods to both, rolling his shoulders back and straining fabric with it. "I'm hale and hearty. Chest is all healed up and I'm through the frustrating regrowing of fur. I wasn't much fun to be around for a few days and I swear I got through about a gallon of Calomine lotion," he coughs.

Drawing a little closer to the fire, he considers the scavenger's lifestyle of street level for a moment, "Oh? Did they come about the situation with the crazy chickens? Or... Od's teeth, I didn't miss a memo, did I? I don't -think- I did..."

Dagger has posed:
"No. Kurt and I are dating and he likes to come by to have some attention and drop some supplies off, and Rogue just wanted some girl time. We didn't even talk business." Tandy says as she gives a snap of her fingers to summon a blob of light, then floats it over towards the wall with the large map pinned to it, followed by the numerous strings of colored yarn that designates gang territory.

"The crazy chickens are no more. The Los Vatos removed whatever was left of them because they were rivals and expanded their territory. Less boots on the ground, but now the heroin business is growing. We plan on dealing with them later, but they are not involved with the children."

Her shoulders lift upwards into a shrug. "I'm really glad to see you're safe and .. furry again. I was really worried for you that night. The children that was rescued are okay?"

Cloak has posed:
"Chickens, like their name, weren't much of a threat in the end." Cloak remarks as he walks away from the fire barrel. "So far there haven't been many leads, which means either nothing much is happening or - more likely - they're starting to go to ground and operate more quietly. Our strikes against the various gangs have been drawing increasing attention from more of the 'heroes' in the city wanting in on the action. If they can stop it, great. So long as they don't scare the operations more into shadow than they already are."

Beast has posed:
"I'm not going to lie, I was a bit worried for me that night, too. But we had a nightcrawler and I heal quickly. I had absolutely /no/ idea that you were dating him though," Beast looks actually a little proud for a moment, grinning again. "Spectacular! Anyway," pause, beat "...wait, Rogue wants girl time? You think you know a person. Apparently, I'm occasionally very clueless."

He turns his attention to the map of strings, looking over the activity with his eyes travelling here and there, 'connecting the dots' so to speak. "The children have been assessed. Some needed a good deal more therapy, some have come to the school, others have been returned to their parents. Overall, that could have been a lot worse than it was. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you two about, as I'm feeling itchy palms over that whole affair. Given lately we've had... some... uh... child related troubles... I am feeling extraordinarily impotent. Hate that feeling. Is there anything new, in that regard, or is it all getting too hot, with uninvited Hero action?"

Dagger has posed:
"She came over and said she wanted to check up on me, but I could tell that she just wanted a friend. Maybe someone unfamiliar to talk to. I know all about that. We spent the day having lunch and walking around the park. She also make the threat of if I ever hurt her brother, she would turn me into a pancake or something." Tandy heads over to the map to look at it, reaching out to tap a few of the pins on the board, then takes the yellow one for the Vatos and drags it over towards the docks now.

"But, yes, we're dating. He's teleported me to your place a few times to spend the night. He keeps trying to get me to move in with him, Rogue too .. so did James. I just don't feel comfortable being a mooch, and being too far away from our mission. This church keeps us humble and hungry." She stares at the map for a long moment.

"But Ty' is right. We're getting a lot of attention. Spider-Man, Dare Devil, Iron Fist .. Doctor Strange .. and now Venom. Everyone wants to help us. Venom just wants to eat people and honestly? I'm okay with that. Maybe they will quit kidnapping children if Dark Spider-Man started chewing on their heads."

She reaches over and taps a neighborhood of Bushwick. "Two little girls are missing here. So far, no leads. No one is taking credit from people I have on the inside that feeds me info. They've gone silent .. maybe they got exposed, killed, I don't know. But two girls are missing from that street. It's three blocks away from the elementary school. They aren't related."

Cloak has posed:
"It if wasn't that they were missing from the same area, I'd almost just consider them runaways." Says Cloak, his voice low and somber. "It happens. Kids with powers? I imagine the chances are even higher, and that area is a hotbed. But kids go missing near a school? Something else is probably up. We've been checking the homeless camps and hotspots, but so far no signs of anyone like that."

He glances over towards Hank as he says, "And I doubt there's luck that two girls have shown up on your door recently, hm? If you've been having kid problems, it ain't originating from us. Not since that last fight. What else is going on, more strays, recoveries?"

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy presses his lips close together. To talk, or not to talk? Nope, these are good folks. "We had the juggernaut show up on our doorstep with some information about a mutant farm in Ontario. Kids, kind of. They grew them, rather than kidnapped them, but this... all of it just feels weirdly connected. Or just downright ominously coincidental," Hank looks at the map, where Tandy indicated and draws closer, pushing his glasses up his nose and peering. There is an exhale. "We escalated that, upwards." He points up, for added emphasis but peers at the map, staring at it even. Fixedly. He glances at the surrounding areas, tipping his head juuuuuust a little as he considers.

"I guess no proof that this is connected yet, except that it's a similar modus operandi." He gestures to an area in between the school catchment area, where there are storefronts. "Has anyone checked the convenience stores in this area here?" he asks "They usually have a rather cheap security system, but they almost always have one. And this street here..." he indicates one "...and here..." another, one "...intersect the bus routes for the 107 and the 102, connecting these apartment complexes. Also, any connections with public transport? Bus drivers run a route for months on end, they start to know pick up and drop off of regular kids. If whoever's doing this has workers in public transportation, actually any NYC worker... they'd know the locals. And the corner store operators... kids are kids, they become creatures of habit. You might be able to ...uh... I'm probably teaching you to suck eggs, right? I apologize."

Cloak has posed:
There's a look that Cloak sends aside to Dagger as the farm is mentioned. Subtle at first, but to study his face shows something hard, cold, questioning, and suspicious.

"Yes. We're familiar with how kids on the street behave." He says in a a brusque manner and a shifting of cloaked shoulders. "Can't imagine much changes in a few years. If they were runaways, they wouldn't stick close to home. Easily found. The trouble is, buses are cheap and hard to follow. At least out of a city this large. We'd have to know more about them to judge where they go. Call me cynical, but I don't think they ran away. Coerced to go, maybe."

Dagger has posed:
"I never thought about that." Tandy says in regards to the ideas that Hank is prattling off. So much she needs to learn. "And I doubt most store owners would let Cloak speak to them or look at their security. Maybe me .. but then they'd ask questions, and I've come to learn that those who live in squalor are terrified of those who actually run the streets, the gangs. So many people refuse to talk .. even if Cloak theatens them with violence .. which we resort in desperation."

She lets out a low sigh, then glances back to the blue mutant as he speaks about farms. Her brows tighten visibly, then gives a shake of her head. "I don't even know anymore. The Madame has moved her operations out of Singapore and into the states. That much I did learn. We still do not know who she is and I feel like we are even farther from figuring out anything out. It just feels the rats have scurried underground."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy glances at Tyrone as he responds as he thought he might. "If you would allow me... I can have a roster drawn up for the bus drivers that work those routes, the city workers, too. The store owners that might have seen something or have some CCTV that they're otherwise unwilling to share? I can probably help there, too." And damn him to hell for who he'd have to ask about inquiring. Oh, the more you try and avoid, the more you get sucked in, Hank. "I just don't want to add to your heat situation," he licks his lips lightly.

"Erm." At a loss for words? Not exactly, just feeling very awkward, it seems, given the way he looks aside and studies the ground for a few before adding anything else. "Fear is a horrible motivator and it's very dominant. Look. I will try and help facilitate. This would probably be better if it went the other way, with you telling me what you need, rather than me trying to out-think. I /want/ to. Can I give you my number? I will also do a correlation calculus, once I have ahhhh... the city worker situation downloaded. You can actually calculate variance due to chance and what is a significant variation. Math. It's a scary thing sometimes." He ends that rather lamely.

Cloak has posed:
"Eh, knock yourself out." Cloak says with that sort of tone suggesting that he doesn't see the use, but doesn't have any better ideas. Or Hank is just talking more than his attention can keep track of. "We can at least try to confirm if these girls ran or were taken. Which'll let us know if it's part of this mess or something separate."

"Just keep your head down. You're memorable and you've hit them before. They'll know to look out for you, and if they get wind more are after them they may pull out of the area entirely and we'll lose them."

Dagger has posed:
".. He's using really big words." Tandy whispers to Tyrone as she bumps against his shoulder, then brushes her hand inside of his dark portal of a chest to send a few bolts of light within to tide him over. She is sure he is hungry. "But, yes, we can do that. Thank you so much for helping us, Hank." She says as she brushes her hair back away from her eyes with a flick of her fingers.

"And, I can set us up with a meeting with the others. Um.. the Defenders. I think is.. what we're calling ourselves. We aren't Avenging .. we're defending. Also, tell Kurt I said Hi and I love you?" She gives him a quick grin, then starts for her box of clothes to find her uniform. ".. I'm feeling motivated now. Come on, Cloak, let's hunt."