1944/Saturday In The Park

Saturday In The Park
Date of Scene:	12 August 2017
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	Laura does her katas, runs into Lexi and Jimmy Olsen. It doesn't go well for Jimmy.
Thanks to:	Jimmy Olsen for being the best Jimmy Olsen
Cast of Characters:	X-23, Tendril, Jimmy Olsen

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X-23 has posed:
Laura is often finding refuge deeper into Central Park, further away from the rest of the joggers. It takes some exploration, but luckily the park is large enough. Having found a sufficiently secluded spot, she took to practicing her katas. As every true weapon would know, honing its lethality is of the utmost importance. Powers can be taken away, skill cannot, and Laura has quite the set of skills. But practicing martial arts form aside, she's dressed rather casually, stripped black and white tanktop, and black pants that look a bit on the goth side, what with their arrays of straps, buckles and D-rings.

Tendril has posed:
    Thus, it might be a little bit annoying to hear the sound of something coming your direction. The interesting thing is, rather than the hiker or jogger you might usually expect, the approaching sounds is of displaced leaves, creaking branches, a rustle in the trees. Coming fairly quickly your way, in fact.

X-23 has posed:
Laura seems invested in her motions, she doesn't stop for a moment, there's something serene in her movements. Even if they occasionally suggest inflicting some form of harm, to those with the vision or knowledge to see what she's actually practicing. She does seem a tad more alert, despite not having stopped, she's aware someone is approaching. She's ready to react should this fast approaching arrival turns out to be a threat.

Tendril has posed:
    Thus, you're perfectly aware when the mauve-skinned teen comes barreling through the branches. She's moving via long tendrils sprouting from her arms and back, a dark purple in color, that are grabbing hold of branches as she goes from tree to tree.

    Unfortunately, she's not nearly as observant and doesn't see you until she's almost on top of you, then lets out a yelp and reflexively pulls herself up short. Followed by a sudden snap as the branch she's on gives way and she plummets, landing hard on her back a short distance away.

    "....ow." comes a faint groan.

X-23 has posed:
Laura does stop her routine the moment the woman with the tendrils approaches fast, and it though it may not be too graceful, the way Alexia winds up slipping and falling down when the branch snaps, she was spared some rending strike from Laura. The very same young girl who stands all alert, but does nothing but stare at Alexia, "you fell." She notes the obvious. One might choose to take it as a taunt, but she speaks matter of factly.

Tendril has posed:
    The downed girl is attempting to remember how to breath, the impact having knocked most of her wind out of her. "...yup...noticed...." she wheezes, then the two tendrils sprouting out of her back curl up under her to push her to a sitting position as she winces, rubbing her back. "Ow, my butt..." She huffs out, then finally looks up to see who she nearly ran into that she's....run into. Hmm.

    "Sorry, I didn't see you there..." she says apologetically, the tendrils in her arms retracting back into her forearms, followed by the ones from her back. They leave only a faint swirl of little purple marks on her pinkish skin as they vanish. "I mean, usually there's no one out this way, so I go kinda full speed, and I guess....I need to work on my braking..." she says, rubbing the back of her neck, wincing as she tugs a twig out hf her hair. "...ah, man, this'll take forever to get out..." she grumbles, rubbing her hair furiously as she vainly tries to dislodge the leaves and other bits now stuck in her hair.

X-23 has posed:
Laura continues to look at the fallen girl, not even offering a helping hand, she just nods when the mistake is acknowledged.

Another nod is given when Alexia admits she hadn't spotted Laura, "I forgive you," she says, even though Laura really had nothing to forgive here. But the girl sounded apologetic, and Laura had no reason not to forgive her for whatever perceived offense. "Are you a weapon?" Laura asks as she looks directly at the retracting tendrils. "It's just leaves," Laura notes, as if not quite understanding the rush Alexia feels towards getting rid of those. It's natural camofluge after all.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Sometimes one needs to get away from the hustle and ustle of city life and take a few moments to decompress. Even a born and bred city boy like Jimmy Olsen needs to get off the hard streets (or wartorn countries or cities in states of disaster like he has been running to and from since leaving teh Daily Planet on his hiatus). Now that he is Back in the Tri-City area there is no place better to get away than Central Park.

Of course, Jimmy is a native, not a tourist, and has been coming here since he was a kid, so he doesn't follow the normal beaten paths. Today he is exploring the lesser known paths, stopping every once and a while to study one of those many statues strewn (and sometimes even hidden) throughtout the park. He will often stop and, after studying teh light, lift the camera that hangs from a strap and snap a few shots at interesting angles.. The camera isn't his usual hi-tech one.. This is a vintage DLR, older than he is. A family hairloom of sorts.

He is suddenly distracted when a shadow passes over head in the canopy of greenery. Frowning he quickly lifts his camera, trying to get a focus but it moves pretty fast.. and he doesn't want to waste the /real/ film he uses since it is expensive. So he gives chase, trying to follow the flashes of mauve until it is almost too far away and he hears a thump.. like something fell.

HE crouches down behind a few bushes and peeks through, lifting the camera again... and his eyes go wide when he spots.. Two young women. Well, he is sure ONE of them is a woman.. The other is definately female but.. Tendrils? He quicly grasps the focus on his lense, zooming in and clearing the shot, getting the two now chatting women into frame and he depresses the plunger.

Teh cameras may be old but it is lovingly maintained, harkening from previous era when such devices were almost handcrafted. THis model was used by army photographers, called Charlie MoPics, from teh Koran war upto the First Gulf Way and it is ALMOST whisper quiet.. surely at this distance no one should hear the faint stucatto of clickclickclicks... should they?

Tendril has posed:
    "Well, it's just it...gets tangled in everything this way..." Alexia mutters, sighing. Then shakes her head furiously to try to dislodge it, making a face. As she stops..her hair doesn't for a moment, ruffling like a breeze is running through it...even though there isn't one. Moreover, somehow one of the twigs stuck in her hair has actually gotten pretty tangled, numerous silver strands having wound around it.

    She finally lets out a frustrated sound, then blinks up at the other girl, picking herself up as she dusts more debris off her legs. "A...weapon?" she says, curiously. "...well, I mean, I'm a mutant." she says, making a 'ta dah!' gesture towards herself. "But no. Not a weapon." She clasps her hands behind her back, looking the other girl over curiously. "...are you?" she says questioningly.

    The faint clickclickclick impinges on her attention, her hearing being a bit better than a normal human. She doesn't quite place it, as it's still sort of in the background, since she's focused on the other young woman. Thus..she doesn't start to look for it. Yet.

X-23 has posed:
"Why does it bother you?" Laura asks Alexia as if it was the strangest thing in the world to be concerned about. "If it's that much of a bother, I can cut it for you?" Laura apparently offers an impromptu haircut, but she doesn't look like a girl much invested in fashion and hairstyling, so maybe it's not the best idea to let her tinker with one's hair.

"A mutant..." Laura repeats, looking quite unfazed, though the lilt of interest that was there when she asked if the girl was a weapon is now gone. Asked the same, Laura nods as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Laura does turn to look in the general direction of Jimmy, going as far as to point her finger in his direction, when she asks Alexia out of the blue, "is he a friend of yours?"

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen likes to think he is pretty darned stealthy. He's been in some pretty messed up situations before and hasn't been caught (not TOTALLY true. SOmetimes he has been caught but he usually had 'someone' to help him out of trouble.). He pretty much THRIVES on stealth and cunning because he is a Photographic /Ninja/ (Uhm, no Jimmy.. No you aren't).

He is getting some GREAt shots, though he wishes he had an audio recorder with him.. A Mauve Mutant with tentacles? A raven haired karate babe? Talking about Weapons? This is some great stuff!

Uh oh...

He blinks as a pair of eyes look DIRECTLY at him, down his lense, and he accidently fires off another three round burst of film before he teeters back and falls on his ass.

"Crap.." he murmurs as Laura points past Alexia in his direction. He slowly stands up, hands raised and camera hanging at his chest. "Uhm.. Hi... Sorry?"

He is BEET red at the moment.

Tendril has posed:
    "Huh? Who?" is Lexi's briliant response as she turns to look where Laura is pointing, her golden eyes sharpening as her ears twitch at the sound of Jimmy falling backwards, then blinking as Jimmy stands up. "What are ya..." She spots the camera at that point, then a purplish flush runs over her cheeks. "What the hell are ya doin'?!?" she says, her mind running to several reasons why a young man might be snapping pictures of two girls from the bushes.

    That's likely while she unconsciously takes a step slightly, so she's a bit more between Jimmy and the younger girl. For 'protection'!

    Boy does she not know Laura at all.

    "Y-ya can't go 'round takin' pictures of girls in th' middle of the woods!" Well, technically he can, but teen outrage wins out over logical thoughts, mostly due to the embarrassment that someone might have just gotten great pictures of her landing on her butt like that.

X-23 has posed:
Laura doesn't respond to Jimmy, aside from staring at him, the fact he stumbled as he did suggests he likely wasn't Alexia's friend after all. "He was taking pictures of your tendrils," Laura explains the obvious to Alexia. Though her tone is flat and calm, completely devoid of any shred of concern.

"Incorrect," Laura notes at Alexia's presumption, which was already proven erroneous, "he was doing just that, which means he can go around taking pictures of girls in the middle of the woods." There you go, just in case it wasn't obvious enough, Laura is only too glad to serve exposition.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen acks and waves his hands. "Wait! Whoa there.. WHOA!" he says quickly, looking even more embarrased now and maybe a bit more panicky.. "I'm a photographer!" he tells both of them. "I was taking pictures of the statues and something.. sorry.. some/one/ passed overhead!" he quicly points to Alexia. "I think.. I think it was you... I was investigating! Tharts my /job/!"

He sidesteps out of the bushes, trying to look as undangerous as possible (which is pretty easy for him). "Technically.. it's not the middle of the woods.. and it is public property so I /can/ take photos of people without permission.. BUT!" he says quickly.. "I.. I would have probably made myself known and asked if I could use them regardless..." he lowers one hand and offers it in their direction. "Uhm, hi.. My name is Jimmy Olsen..." and no, he doesn't add Perhaps you have heard of me..

Tendril has posed:
    Alexia glances back over her shoulder, peering at Laura. "...okay, yes, he -can-, but he -shouldn't- take pictures of a girl's tendrils..." she begins to explain, before Jimmy quickly starts to explain himself, drawing her attention back to him. She folds her arms, frowning warily at Jimmy - but she does listen, at least, rather than moving straight to chewing him out or something.

    Though her eyes do roll as he gangs up on her with Laura about this whole 'having a right to take pictures of people in a public place OMG'.

    She eyes the hand, then lets out a huff, politeness warring with indignation, before she sighs and finally takes the offered hand. "Lexi..." she mutters, still struggling to lose the flush as she glances back at Laura. "Um, and we must met too. Nice to meet you?"

X-23 has posed:
"You carry a camera," Laura points out, as if there was some distinction to be made, whereby not all who carry a camera are necessarily photographers. Some are spies. Laura looks curiously at Jimmy as he comes out of the bushes and even introduces himself. She doesn't return the favor, and instead looks at Alexia.

"If you are not a weapon, why do you care...?" Laura apparently assumes the possibility that Alexia wasn't honest with her. After all, she's being secretive, and there is a man after her taking her pictures. Seems like a compromised weapon. Looking towards Alexia when she introduces herself in turn, she tilts her head a bit, a quizzical expression coming over her visage, "is it?" Apparently the words formed as a question leave Laura uncertain if it was nice for Alexia to meet her or not.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
For all that he seems embarrased (at being caught, not what he was doing) Jimmy takes the mutant girl's hand.. without a single flinch or hesitation. Even teh most tolerant humans tend to pause around visible mutants, no matter how enlightened, but Jimmy hasn't an iota of hesitation. "It's a pleasure to meet you, 'Lexi.." he says with a bit of a shy grin, then releases her hand and offers it to Laura... who just points at his camera and he nods slowly. "Y-Yeah.." Okay, he pauses here, stuttering a bit, because the human looking girl is.. intimidating for some reason. It's just a weird feeling he gets. "Like I s-said.. I'm a photographer. I used to work for the Daily Planet.. Maybe you've heard of me?" THEEEEERE WE GO! "Jimmy Olsen? The guy who took the first picture of Superman?" He doesn't sound like he is bragging, oddly.. He almost sound resigned to it.

He looks between the two girls now, raising a brow. "Uhm, I know it /seemed/ like I was spying on you but.. Is this a conversation you want me to hear?" he asks slowly. "Because.. Like I said.. Reporter.. Well.. I said photographer but I /am/ a reporter too.. But.. I won't say anything if you don't want me too.. or I can walk off.. There is a great Gyro cart down the path..."

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi does notice when Jimmy doesn't hesistate. That's enough to earn a grudging point or two. Most standard model human types can't help staring. Or occasionally, flinching. She's kinda used to it, but not so much that she doesn't notice when it doesn't happen.

    She blinks at Laura, looking back at her as she hears that uncertain tone. "Yes. Yes, it is nice to meet ya." she says, her lips twitching faintly into a slight smile, her tone more sure now, as she offers her hand to Laura too. "And it's..just that it isn't...I've had bad experiences with people takin' pics of me." she says, the faint frown returning as she looks back at at Jimmy slightly. Though she leaves the hand extended, not turning away from Laura. Because seriously, rude much? Offering your hand and not paying attention? Okay, she's a little distracted, as she still say absently. "Oh...? Huh. I uh...don't really read newspapers much." she admits, a little sheepishly. "That's cool?"

    She considers, then sighs. "I don't think this is, I was just....sayin' hi to....um..." She watches Laura, a little unsure. "...I didn't get your name?" she finally says, the awkwardness just....descending at that point.

X-23 has posed:
"A newspaper," Laura at least seems to recognize the Daily Planet. Maybe she finally accepts that Jimmy is a photographer? Once Jimmy mentions the Superman photo, Laura finally nods, "I heard of you." She then turns to look at Alexia and points out, "he is not lying."

Eventually Laura notes that Lexi isn't going to give up on holding her hand out at her, so she finally mimics the gesture, reaching her own hand towards Lexi without actually performing a handshake. "Laura." She eventually introduces herself, quitely so.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Yeah... Laura knows him... Jimmy continues staring at Laura for a few moments.. Nope Not creepy at all. And it's not creepy that she just held out her hand and didn't shake Alexia's either. Wow, is she from Mars? Wait, Martians /are/ green.. or sometimes white.. Still...

He quickly turns back to Alexia and looks relieved that she DOESN'T know who he is (or knows who he is and says it in a deadpan way that would give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money).

"Well it was all over the internet too.. But thats not important.." he shows Alexia the camera, a sympathetic look on his face. "Look.. I know some people are.. well they don't treat mutants or other metas well.. This isn't my work camera. It's an antique. I was taking photos just.. for me I guess? Art?" he pats it and looks between both of them. "I won't sell these to a newspaper though, or a news magazine. I would like to /keep/ them though.. Maybe for a portfolio or something? But if you don't want me to.. I will open the camera and expose the film.." Which would also expose all the other shots her took today, but he knows that.

Tendril has posed:
    The shake-that's-not-a-shake does throw Lexi a bit as well, before she cautiously moves her hand over very gently, almost gingerly take Laura's hand, for a brief shake. "Hey Laura..." she says, smiling a bit more at her now. Hey, she's grown up with people with all sorts of...things about them. This is not even pegging her weird meter yet, really. Though unlike Jimmy's finely honed survival instincts, she doesn't seem to notice the same vibe - either oblivious, or she just...has problems thinking of someone younger than her as truly dangerous.

    Yeah, this has gotten her in trouble previously.

    She turn her attention back to Jimmy, frowning as she folds her arms over her chest again. "...just for....art stuff. Not for anythin' weird." she says slowly. Still looking hesistant. "Ya really wanna keep pictures of me?" That just feels...weird but not as threatening as it felt at first.

X-23 has posed:
The handshake with Laura winds up on the awkward side, but it does happen, as Laura mimics Alexia and they eventually shake hands. Her grip not at all formidabble, as she was mostly trying to figure out what Alexia wants in the first place. Laura rather quickly puts her hand back at her side with that ritual done.

"It's simple," Laura once again sheds exposition for Alexia, "A) He likes you. B) He finds you weird. C) He is a spy, on to your secret, and keeping track of you. Not that complicated, really."

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen quickly holds up both hands again in front of him. "No no! Nothing, uhm.. Weird.." he assures her. "Though maybe one day I could /do/ a story? About you, I mean. Nothing /bad/ he quicly adds. "Everyone has a story that should be told.. I totally understand if you wouldn't want to but.." he quickly pats down his shirt, then looks relieved and offers her a slightly tattered business card. "Here.. Call me if you are interested, or want to know what I decide to do with your pics.. or if you just want a copy. I will send you one." he promises..

To Laura?

"W-W-Wait.. WHAT????" he asks, his pale skin turns BEET red again and he sputters a few seconds. "I'm.. I... I don't think sh-she's WEIRD! AND I am N-NOT a SPY!!!" he says, looking flustered now at the accusations.. and in totally Jimmy fashion not realizing he didn't confirm or deny one of the questions, which will probably (in totally Jimmy olsen fashion) be somehow misconstrued one way or another..

Tendril has posed:
    The mauve-skinned girl blinks at Laura's simple explanation, then looks back at Jimmy, squinting at him suspiciously, before a slow flush begins spreading across her cheek. "...w-wait so you....um..." The poor girl turns bright red, snatching the card. "R-rightnicetomeetyouI'lljustbegoingthenbye!" she says, quickly turning and flicks out a tendril, pulling herself back up into the trees as she rapidly swings away. AWAAAAY FROM THE AWKWARD!