13514/Street Racing

Street Racing
Date of Scene:	17 June 2021
Location:	Melville, Haven
Synopsis:	Jessica Cruz makes a new friend
Cast of Characters:	Hannibal King, Green Lantern (Cruz)

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Hannibal King has posed:
    The streets of Bludhaven, just like every other major city in the world, were quieter at night. Fewer people were in the buildings. There was fewer of just about everything... everything except crime. The young people, those who could afford it, often liked to gather for some street races. And every once in a while, Hannibal King liked to take part too. His 1970 Dodge Charger R-T was his pride and joy, something that he had been working on for years.
    Rolling up, there was already a packed crowd of youngsters, from late teenagers, to early thirties at the latest, but those were few and far between. Mostly, it was people in their mid to late twenties. Music was playing. Some even had hot dog vending machines. It was as if it were an impromptu street party.
    But nothing illegal was happing yet. Just gathering was unusual, clogged up the street, but it was perfectly legal. Hannibal parked his car alongside some of the others, most of which had fancy paint jobs, upgrades, but his, well, his was jet black. It was simple, but it looked great on his car.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz is at the outskirts of the crowd. She just thought she'd check out what's going on - she's a bit nosy, and has no real need to be on duty for the Corps of late. She is wearing a forest-green jacket and slacks, nothing too feminine. She is assuming she's going to see a race of some kind. Just staying in the outskirt of the crowd - a dark green shadow, known by few. Crowds just are NOT her thing, but she's trying to get over her anxiety.

Hannibal King has posed:
    There was an order to these things. People who seemed to be organizing them, listening to the police scanners, telling people when they could race, and holding the money during the races. Hannibal King understood it, knew a few of the people. From the looks of it, and as one of the later arrivals, he didn't think he'd get to participate.
    But it was a nice atmosphere to enjoy. He enjoyed the crowd. But others did not. He mingled, spoke with people that he knew, and made his way. He had gotten a hot dog from someone, paying cash, as well as a can of soft drink. He had popped the lid on the soft drink, and was halfway through the hot dog when he noticed the girl on the outskirts, "first time here," he asked bluntly with an easy smile.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz whirls a bit, eyes wide. "Yes. I... like to see races but I'm NOT good with crowds," she murmurs. "Thought a casual thing like this would be good. Trying to... be better with them. Had some trouble with the mob a few years ago. Long story." She sighs softly, then glances. "They have hot dogs here? I thought I smelled them. Could you show me where they are?" She extends her right hand. "I'm Jessica."

Hannibal King has posed:
    "The races are pretty short, but exciting. They only run them when the police are busy with some issue." He would help out with those police emergencies, but generally, if the police were showing up in force, it wasn't a great place for him to be. They asked too many questions. "There's a food truck, over by the orange and yellow Nissan," and he pointed, "they kind of have everything at these races." He took her hand, not kissing it as he had hot dog, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard on his tongue, but did lean in, miming it. "Hannibal," he announced his own name. Yeah, same as the Carthaginian General, and the fictional murderer. But he had the name before Lecter was even invented.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She didn't bat an eye at the name. Apparently she's heard weirder. "Are the police much of an issue? I mean - Bludhaven does have a... reputation for... lawlessness. Why do these people even care?" she asks, not quite sure of the logic. "The crowd isn't too bad there..." she muses as she hears an engine revving up as she heads towards the food cart.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "Police are police. They catch someone racing; they'll impound the vehicle, and lock the driver up. Not really a huge deal in the long run, but a massive headache for the racer. I think the crime rate in Gotham is higher than out here." Seems that the police were busy with some call, and the race began. The cars had been on a 'starting line'. A young girl in a skimpy outfit would walk out, drop the flag, and the race was off, each of the cars heading off. They had to do a lap around an area. As the people had largely gathered behind the starting line, they would all move out of the way, as the cars would be returning around the loop soon from the other side. He walked with her to the food cart.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods as she gets a hot dog as she listens. She wishes she could watch but at night, a Lantern construcdt would be WAY too obvious. "I see the eye candy is in display too. Are all the racers male?" she asks curiously as she gets a hot dog and a soda. "And.... who do you think is going to win?" she asks. Not that she'd know them from Adam.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "... yeah, I guess." There were girls who were scantily glad. There were guys who wore incredibly tight shirts. "Mostly, but like seventy, eighty percent." There were plenty of female racers, they were just outnumbered. "Probably Suki," he said, "she's driving the pink Honda S3000."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz nods slowly. "Yeah - I'd never get caught in an outfit like that," she mutters softly. "I have some.... bad scarring on my arm. Not even a plastic surgeon can help." She sighs softly. "That's why I'm glad it's a bit cool tonight so I can justify the jacket."

Hannibal King has posed:
    Hannibal gave her a comforting look. He felt sad for her, could sense that she had some body positivity issues, and seemed to be bad around crowds, a fact she had brought up. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Normally he would make jokes, but he didn't want to give her anything but support, even if she was a perfect stranger. "Though, you do have a nice figure, so, if you ever did want to get caught, you could pull it off, scarring or no scarring. Although that does raise the question of who's catching you, and why they are, and why someone would want to get caught. I may have found my way into one of those loops."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz shrugs. "I don't know... I don't have much going on in that arena. Last time I got even relatively close to someone, I punched him in the face. A work colleague. The bosses weren't very happy about it but..." She shrugs. "He deserved it. All my coworkers told me that someone should've punched him years ago." She shrugs. "It just helps to talk to a stranger sometimes, y'know? An unbiased ear is helpful."

Hannibal King has posed:
    "If you say so," he said with a shrug. "Oh... yeah... well... sound like he deserved it," for whatever he did, "and if that's the way you feel, miss, I'm just a strange man in a coat. Wait, that sounds worse than I intended. I'm just a guy, no name, no home, unbiased as it gets." Pretending that he hadn't introduced himself earlier, and that she hadn't mentioned her name.

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz murmurs, "That's okay - I know many strange men." She smiles. "I even got to meet Batman once. It was quite incredible. He truly looms larger than life." She glances at you. "Don't care for your name much?" she asks, a wry smile on her face.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "No, I happen to love my name. But you're not going to hear what it is, stranger," he was playing along, as he sipped his soft drink, since by now the hot dog was finished. Suki did win the race, and by now they were set up and ready for the next race, once the police scanner suggested they were busy. "Batman huh. I always thought he was a myth."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz shakes her head. "No. He's very real. Let's just say that if this whole crowd was in Gotham, you might actually see the Batmobile racing by at impossible speeds. Though I doubt he'd concern himself with some friendly street racing." She sighs softly. "Hmmmmm. I'm pretty sure you told me your name. I have to think... something starting with an H." She winks.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "Oh, are we going to play a game of Rumpelstiltskin?" He smirked, "although that starts with an 'R', so that can't be it." He thought about the Batmobile, "I'd like to see that. I wonder what he made the batmobile out of? Probably easier to use a base car and modify, rather than build it from the ground up. Something tells me he didn't use a Chrysler Neon."

Green Lantern (Cruz) has posed:
Jessica Cruz smiles softly. "Yeah... I've never seen the legendary Batmobile, Hanibal, but I've heard much about it, and know that it's real." She ddcided to drop the facade of not knowing each other's name. "Ah - the second race," she muses as the two cars zoom off. "Well, perhaps we'll meet again sometime."