2499/Layover

Layover
Date of Scene:	18 September 2017
Location:	Chinatown, NYC
Synopsis:	People meet at a Chinese Restaurant, it happens.
Cast of Characters:	Jimmy Olsen, Kaelyn Silverleaf, X-23, Grant Ward, Breath

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Jimmy Olsen has posed:
So close to home, yet so very very far away.

James Bartholomew Olsen is no stranger to layovers. It's part and parcel in his line of work, really, considering how far and how often he has to travel. He would also like to believe that having his flight deverted to new York rather than manhattan, because of a small alien invasion, was something less than ordinary...

Alas...

Now, Jimmy /could/ have found a way to metropolis from here, after all, by calling a cab.. its not TOO far away and he could afford it. And one would expect a known photojournalist would give gis eyeteeth to step into the fray fo aliens vs superpeople duking it out yet we find Jimmy sitting in the small chinese restaurant, his carry on bag and camera kit under the table, enjoying a bowl of noodles. And where everyone else is either watching the action on the TV's around the place, or on their phones, Jimmy is quietly trying to relax...

Maybe he is broken. But the noodles are good, as is the nice cold bottle of imported Chinese Beer.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
It had been a long day, a very long day for Kae. She enters the restaraunt a bit worse for wear. She's got a bandage around each hand and a bandaid attached over her brow, as well as one around her leg. Kae makes her way inside and bows to one of the wait staff, talking to them in perfect Mandarin, before she wanders over to a seat near Jimmy. She glances over to him and offers a slight smile, even as tired and dirty as the woman is, she's still able to be a little cheerful at times.

Kae settles down in her seat slowly, wincing a bit as at stiff joints and muscles before settling back. The waitstaff brings a giant glass of iced down jasmine tea and a big bowl of fried wanton with sweet and sour sauce before the redhead leands back in her chair, taking a deep breath and simply exhailing.

X-23 has posed:
A young girl of perhaps 16, dressed in a quasi-goth manner, if colors be the indicator, walks directly to the counter and orders nothing but a serving of rice. It is handed promptly, before she moves to sit at a table with a clear view of the door. She glowers at Jimmy when she spots him, he may recall her from a certain photo taking incident of martial arts training.

Grant Ward has posed:
It has been non-stop work for Grant Ward. SHIELD is on-deck for all the insane interstellar shenanigans, doing everything they can to keep the world safe. Grant has been shot, beaten and even traped in a crumbling building in all of this invasion stuff, and now he is enjoying some egg drop suit, and trying to catch his breath. His arm is in a sling, and the man is dressed in casual attire (A nice grey sweater and jeans). He sits at his own table, lost in thought as he works on his bowl.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen handles his chopsticks like a pro, slurping more noodles into his mouth as the first young woman enters, raising an eyebrow at the bandages with curiosity.. but then shakes his head and actually smirks a little as she speaks mandarin to the waitstaff... Who is actually Korean but /does/ know mandarin. Such is life, right? He nods back to her and after the waitress gives teh woman her tea she walks over to JImmy and asks, in Korean, if he wans anothe rbeer. He nods, drains the dregs of the bottle before handing it to her, and thanks her in her nativve toungue.

Once he notices one injured person, he notices another.. The guy with the soup. His curisity screams, and he slowly reaches beneath the table to grab his camera with a free hand.. which he sets casually on said table as he is about to continue eating when...

He almost chokes a little on is noodles when a familiar face walks in and glares at him.. The mutant girl from the park weeks ago... He coughs a few times..

X-23 has posed:
Laura maintains her glower, and then simply takes her rice dish and walks up to Jimmy's table. Without a word, she just joins him, sitting across from him without ever asking for permission. "You are the photographer." She notes, as if that was such a deep secret, Jimmy Olsen was likely one of the journalistic photographers of some renknown.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae sighs and finally orders her self some food, fried sesemi balls, some shumai, and an entre of orange chicken. Kae glances over to Grant now and tilts her head before offering a smile. It's probably no secrect to the Shield Agent, Kae was on the front lines when the boom tubes opened up and helped fight that early wave of soldiers. Kae stretches her back, wincing a bit at her shoulder and mutters "Who'da thunk fighting an otherworldly envasion would be this much work? You think they'd like come in with corkguns and waterballoons right?" she asks, now trying to make a bit of a joke at everything.

Kae glances to the camera then Jimmy and smirks "Not catching me at my best." she says, winking one of those brilliant green eyes of hers. She nibbles on noodles and glances glances around again before setting her backpack in an extra chair and looking through her phone, and then a datapad? If one were to look they'd see a stock of items.. She sighs "Gonna have to go home, and restock." She mutters, and then smiles again as she looks aorund.

Grant Ward has posed:
Grant is a spy, so can pretty much instinctually feel when he's being watched. The little hairs stick up on the back of his neck, and the man turns to glance over at Jimmy and the camera on the table. He watches him for a short moment before he brings his spoon to his lips for another sip of delicious soup. He furrows his brow a hint when the teen joins the man, too.

He feels Kaelyn's gaze on him after a moment, too. He glances over at her and arches an eyebrow. "Sure." He glances down into his soup and finishes it all off. He sits back in his chair before waving a waitress down. "Pot of tea, please?"

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen washes down the rough noodles with the newly arrived beer just moments after Laura sits down across from him, swallowing hard, then sets the bottle down. "Uhm.. Yeah. Thats me. The Photographer." he says. "Actually photojournalist is more apt.. Jimmy Olsen." he says and offers his free hand. "I didn't catch your name last time.."

He turns his head slightly, raising his brow at kaelyn, then shrugs. "Thats sort of the point. Not getting people at their best." he tells her. "The best is not always the truth, after all."

He then looks at Grant and nods respectfully. He's been around, and between the bandages and the way he carries himself, he knows Grant is not a normal 'Civil servant'..

He sets down his chopsticks and picks up his beer again. "People are acting like this is their first alien invasion.."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae smiles slightly "It's mine!" she says and shrugs "First one I've been involved with. Usually I'm in my shop or someone else's shop building someones wand, flying broom or carpet, putting together potions and the like too." She adds with a smirk, then she glances at Grant curiously again before motioning to the arm "Break or disclocation?" she asks, it's rather to the point, but she holds up a couple vials one is white, one is blue... "If it's a break take the white and then a blue, if it's just a dislocation, take the blue one." she says with a slight smile. Then she looks to Laura and back to Jimmy and finally the food starts to arrive...

"Ya know if we all wanna chat and stuff, why don't we all take the big table and talk together maybe?" Kae asks curiously. Yup she's an extrovert and has no problem having a chat with folks.. Specially since it's a good way for her to blow off steam

X-23 has posed:
With Kaelon talking out loud, Laura turns to look her way, a rather deadpan expression on her face as she notes, "I wouldn't expect any invasion, otherworldy, or otherwise, to come so ill equipped." She then returns attention to her rice bowl, deftly using her chosticks to eat at a rather fast pace.

Much like the last time they met, Laura doesn't show signs of responding to common societal norms, such as a handshake for greeting, she just stares a moment at Jimmy when he extends his hand towards her. "Laura," she offers when asked for her name, at least she was willing to give that much.

Overhearing Jimmy's quip at Kaelyn, she notes, "with discipline, one can always be at their best." When it comes to talk of the invasion, Laura quiets down and goes back to eating.

Grant Ward has posed:
"The average civilian hasn't had to deal with an invasion on this level before," he grunts after Jimmy speaks up. He glances over while he waits for his tea. "Hasn't really been anything on this level before, and when it -has- hit, people ahve stepped up and kept it from getting bad down here. This is hitting folks where they live."

He scratches at a bit of stubble on his chin and adjusts the strap on his sling. "So, for a lot of these people, it's like it -is- their first real invasion. Need to cut them a break. They aren't some...what? Combat journalist? The thing is...most people shouldn't -need- to act like this is anything but their first invasion. If they do it means other people have failed at their job."

He glances over at Kaelyn. "Laser blast. I'm not reflective or bulletproof. Third degree burns over a quarter of my shoulder and bicep. Managed to fix a lot of that because...well...science I won't even attempt to understand...but it'll be a few days till I'm tip-top."

He eyes the big table dubiously. Laura's comment brings a roll of the eyes.

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen looks at laura, retracting his hand, and raises a brow. "Often people's 'best' is just that.. a discipline.. a trained front to hide their worst, Laura." he tells her.He then rolls his eyes at Kaelyns enthusasim, muttering something probably close to "Invasion Virgin" under his breath before he takes a swig, but when he is finished he sets the bottle down and looks at Grant a moment, the man's comment hitting him...

Jimmy then sighs and looks down at his camera, his face apologetic. "No.. No you are right.." he says, shaking his head a bit and sighing. "Sorry, that was me being a jackass.." he finally admits to everyone. "I just.. I was really hoping we were passed things like this. That /I/ was passed things like this. There is enough homegrown crap going on around the world that people ignore, why do we need to have more of it imported, ya know?" he asks... Then motions to the extra seats at the booth and calls out to the waitress (again in Korean) for a round of drinks (the other's pleasure) and whatever they are eating be on his bill.

X-23 has posed:
"Front...?" Laura shakes her head sharply at Jimmy's claim, "I train all sections of my body, not just the front." She does take a moment to frown at Grant, "you can't expect other people to protect you. Whatever comes, you must be prepared to protect yourself."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae tilts her head, then shrugs slowly "Mebbe, but I've been in the thick of it since this whole mess started up. Was right there when thousands of what can only be described as monsters, tanks and insect like ships and flying demons come reining in fro these tubes that go boom when they open, hence the name boom tube... Dun think I was prepared for this one." She adds and rubs at the back of her neck and glances around "Completely spent my magic reserves and I'm out of the fight for half a day or so while I try to replentish..." She adds and grins a bit "I don't think I've ever been this exhausted before.

Kae looks at Laura curiously, then back to Grant and sets the blue vial on the table top... "Drink that your injuries will heal in an hour or two... You'll still wanna rest it for just a bit, get a good night's sleep but this'll fix those burns quite nice." Kae says with a slight smile. She then tilts her head as she hears about her meal being fixed... She then glances to Jimmy curiousl, and tugs a small crystal ball from her pocket... She then sets it on the table and taps it once on top. It glows a bit, floats up and unfolds into a screen, before showing what her automata she had out picked up and saw when the boom tubes opened and hell poured out....

"This is how things started..." Kae says simply and takes a long pull on her tea before glancing over to Grant, and finally back at Laura.. "I'm Kaelyn, Kaelyn Silverleaf...

Grant Ward has posed:
He nods a bit to Jimmy's apology, but doesn't comment on it. He is a 'less words' kind of guy, afterall. He eyes that offered seat for a long moment before he finally rises to his feet. When the waitress arrives with his tea and cups he gestures to the new table, and he slides into an offered seat. He takes the pot and pours a cup of the steaming tea. "Have some, if you like." There are a few extra cups for it.

"I agree...to a point...in that folks should learn basic self defense. That does not mean they should train to fight alien or demonic invasion. Otherwise, what are heroes for? SHIELD? The Avengers?" He glances at the offered vial from Kaelyn and shakes his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't put that kind of stuff in my body."

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen spares a glance at laura and.. well he just sighs and draws a hand down his face. "Thats now what I... You know what? never mind.." he mumbles and shakes his head. The girl is hard to understand.. like she was raised by wolves or something..

He then looks at Kar and raises that brow again as she keeps mentioning magic.. He almost looks like he wishes to say something, or ask something, but instead nods to her as she introduces herself. "Likes I told Laura.. Jimmy olsen.." he says and eyss the magic orb, shuddering a little.. Magic has not been his friend very often in the past but so long as he isn't being turned into a frog... And the show /is/ informative.. HE almost looks like he wishes he had been there.. almost...

To Grant he actually nods in agreement. "You are right. We don't need /everyone/ to be a hero. People deserve to have normal lives. Yes, they should be prepared for some things but you cannot prepare against alien invasions... Not really. Oh I know some people /try/, like.." he nods at Grants mentioning of SHIELD and the Avengers.

X-23 has posed:
"Codename? Alias?" Laura asks Kaelyn curiously, due to the unusual sounding last name. She snorts at Grant's argument, and quips, "it is their decision to do what they do, they are not bound to do it for you..." soft spoken, but she could have been heard if anyone was paying attention. She then goes right back to her bowl of rice, making quite work of it, emptying it to the last bit.

When she finishes her meal, Laura gets up and in passing, notes to Kaelyn, "if you'd have paid attention to details, you wouldn't have had to ask for Jimmy's name a second time." Seems like she's an abrasive little thing. She absolutely ignores display of magic and abilities performed, as if it was a rather mundane occurance. Which admittedly, it's more so than it used to be.

"Invasion or not, I will be fine," Laura asserts as if anyone cares as she makes her way outside.

Grant Ward has posed:
Grant is seated at the big table with the others. It's a lull in the ongoing invasion, and some folks are attempting to catch some sense of normality. Grant is wearing jeans, and a light grey sweater, his left arm in a sling, and he has some maintained scratches on his cheek and forehead. He is sipping a cup of hot tea, and there is a pot on the table. He nods softly to Jimmy's comments.

He cocks his head to the side, watching Laura as she quips and makes her way on outside. "Wow. She's a little bit of a bitch." He shrugs to himself, pausing as he winces at a brief pain in his shoulder. He shakes his head and sips his tea. He still has not given his name to the others, however.

Breath has posed:
Lyssa slips in, carrying a large blue duffle bag over their shoulder, and looks around. She dodges back out of Laura's way and blinks, then looks around. "Woah, there's actually people in here? You know there's space aliens zapping people out there, right? I mean, not right NOW, but you know. In general. I mean, I don't even know why this place didn't call in sick for zappies."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae tilts her head "My line of expertise is definately not alien invasion, but it's more in other paths..." Kae says and shrugs slowly, she then blinks at Laura, "Noo that's my real name." She says and smiles. She then glances at Laura again "I asked for Jimmy's name?" she asks and tilts her head "I must be tired..." She mutters. She then grins at Grant "So you had a building dropped on you and got laser shot? Those fricking particle beams they fire, hurt, hurt a lot.. More so than say the heat from maybe a laser blast... " She sighs quietly and tugs a USB storage from her pocket and holds it up "I havn't gotten to SHIELD yet with this, but this is a copy of what my drones picked up, troop displacement, tactics, manor of movement, etcetera. There's also suggestions for how to close future boom tubes too, that I think SHIELD may or may not have..." She says and smiles a bit again. "Anyone here know how best to get it to them?"

Kae watches Laura leave and blinks again at the girl before shrugging slowly "Takes all kinds I guess..." Kae then motions to the vial "Its a potion, a healing potion to be honest... It's no worse than perhaps putting pain killing narcotics, antibiotics or anything else like that into your body." Kae says and grins cheerfully "But if you don't want it, yer welcome to not take it.. I won't press further.

Kae then glances to Jimmy and grins. "If you think it will help your work and all, you are more than welcome to video what comes from this orb and all... It might help with your story."

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen doesn't even get to say Goodbye to Laura.. yet again... frowning as she walks off or stalks off or whatever she does.. "There is something off about that girl..." he murmurs, then looks to Grant and raises a brow. "She's a /kid/, man... and not a very happy one either.. so maybe ixnay of the itchbay, please?" he asks, defending her even though grant seems to be correct in his description. He then notes grants wince and shakes his head.

"Dude, you really need to be in a hospital or something. Are you Police? Army? Shield? Alpha Flight?" he asks, phishing for /something/. "Because someone bandaged you up because you were lending a hand, if I miss my guess, and you don't seem like a standard Good Samaritan. You talk like a soldier. Trust me, I know Soldiers..." he says

To kaelyn he raises a brow and looks at the.. contraption again... and shakes his head. "No.. No Thanks. I appreciate the offer but.. I wasn't there. It makes a big difference to /be/ there, to earn the story.. I didn't. There are other journalists in the thick of things, right now, and they are /earning/ their story. This one.. This one isn't mine. And this, well, whatever the heck it is would give me an unfair advantage" he says, sighing.. Probably sounds odd for a photojournalist to be turning DOWN a scoop.. Don't they tend to fight over stuff like that? Why would The guy who took the first photograph of SUPERMAN turn it down?

He Looks over his shoulder as another girl enters, just as Laura is leaving, and he frowns. "No aliens /here/. It's all downtown. Unless one of you guys is secretly an alien.." he quips.

Grant Ward has posed:
Grant Ward shrugs a hint. "What? A kid can be a kid and still be a...whatever. Bitch. Jerk. Insert name here. Age is no excuse, and neither is your upbringing. My childhood wasn't exactly rainbows and hugs, but I still learned how to feel sympathy for people." He shakes his head at the question. "I'm in the government. The shoulder is fine. As I said earlier, it'll be tip-top in a day or two."

He glances at Kaelyn and shakes his head. "I was helping evacuate an apartment building during the last big boom. One of the invaders was aiming at a Cape and hit me." The man shakes his head when she asks about getting in touch with SHIELD. "Sorry. All paperwork and red tape with them." He waves off the potion again and sips his tea. Grant glances over at the new entry, and he chuckles softly at Jimmy's comment.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae peers at Jimmy now and shrugs "I was there, front line and saw the whole initial wave.... I believe this is what they call, in journalism ters. An exclusive? So up to you if you want the info or not. Folks realy need to get it out there what folks are doing with these things and let people really know what's going on... I"m finding a lot of normal folks still don't believe it." Kae glances to Lyssa now curiously, she then smirks and nods "Oh believe me, I know all about the zappies, so does he." She says, motioning to Grant.

She then umms "I got hit by a tank... well so did the building I was on... and the one behind that..." She says and taps her chin... "Singed even with the wards I had up. These things arent a joke." She says with a smile. Then grins at Lyssa "So how are you doing what with the alien invasion going on You staying out of it?" She asks curiously. Next Kae looks back to Grant and picks up the vial.. "Maybe I should make these things into hard candy..." She mutters... "Having a hard time getting folks to take these things..."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa hmms, "I guess. I'm just kind've making the rounds checking up on some people I know that haven't checked in. So far so good. I haven't had to try to fight any alien doom tank demon things or anything, at least. I don't even know WHAT I would do about THOSE. Run away?" They grab a menu. "I need some soda and, I dunno, maybe some curry or something. Hard to get to sleep with all this going on."

Jimmy Olsen has posed:
Jimmy Olsen's fingers clench on the table, next to his camera and his usually pale complexion darkens, especially the feckles, as he stares at kaelyn for a moment. "You do not get it. I don't expect you to understand. I wasn't there /with/ you. I didn't /earn/ it." he says, his voice getting a bit raspy. He points to Grant. "He was there fighting. You were their fighting. Dozens or hundreds of people were there alongside of you. Civilians.. Police.. OTHER reporters. My /friends/. Hell, my //mother/ is in metropolis right now.. But /I/ wasn't there.. it is not /my/ story." he says, sounding angry now. He drains his bottle, stands up and grabs his carry on and camera, after dropping more then enough cash on the tale to cover anyone.

"I don't ride on other people's coattails. I don't chase ambulances. My pictures, my articles, are /earned/." He slings both bags over his shoudlers. "Tahnk you, anyone and everyone, who was out there helping.. who is going BACK out there to help. You guys are the /real/ heroes.." and with that he stalks off.

Grant Ward has posed:
The man with the sling frowns a hint as his phone vibrates. He pulls it from his pocket and glances at a text before he spends a moment firing one back with his good hand. "Work calls. Enjoy the tea." The stil unnamed man rises from his seat and sighs to himself, before pocket his phone. Even though Jimmy said he'd cover everything, he fishes out his wallet and leaves a tip for his own stuff.

He opens his mouth and then pauses as Jimmy has his small eruption. He simply watches the man storm off and then turns to make his way off as well, in a much less dramatic fashion.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae frowns "No insult intended." she mutters, then shrugs "Gotta apologize later to him I guess.... Or..." She pulls a paper form her pocket, how it got there and stayed nice and uncreased is anyone's guess. " A quill appears in her hand and she writes a note on it before waving her hand and the thing folds up and she sends it off after Jimmy....

Breath has posed:
Lyssa blinks at Jimmy and is about ready to go off on him when he zooms out the door. "What the shit. Somebody doesn't understand what 'teamwork' is about.." They hmph, then peer at the flying paper. "Huh, neat." They brush their hair out of their face a bit and look around at the sudden evacuation.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae then tilts her head "Yaah, evidently I insulted the fellow with my wanting to help em...... I guess gingers of the world do not unite?" she adds and smirks slightly. "So you ok? And as to your prior statement about running? Yah, run away, don't run in straight lines either and grab cover... Cover might not stop the blast but it won't let them get a clear line of site on you either...

Breath has posed:
Lyssa nods, "I got that, it's not the first time I had to run away from someone that wanted to hurt me. I'm fine so far! Nobody has expected me to take down anything yet or whatever. I take it you've been dealing with those things? I'd kind of like to know what to watch out for. Like, how breakable are they and stuff. Can I punch it in the face if it tries to grab me?"

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
"Umm they managed to kidnap a Kryptonian..." She responds and shrugs... "They're dangerous, strong energy weapons, they can mob capes and try to capture them... " She adds and shrugs "Tanks have enough firepower to vape a normal tank of ours 3 times over... And I do mean vape, more energy weapons... Also the weapons when they hit generate more pain than a normal energy weapon of their type too... " She says and shrugs...

There are things that look like flying demons, there are dog droops, regular troops, they're all grey, blank-faced kinda and have crazy alien energy weapons.. Lets not forget the aircraft, they look like bugs..." She says and rubs the back of her neck "IT's all the strangest thing I can think of... I honestly wish I could just hang out at the shop, but I feel if I don't try to help where I can then I'm not gonna have a shop left to worry about.

Breath has posed:
Lyssa nods, "Yeah, fair enough. I mean, I know how to throw a punch - not as hard as when I was in high school I guess, but still - that doesn't seem like much if tanks show up though. Not like I am running in to fight or anything! I just want my friends to be safe."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa ums, "Anyways, don't I know you from somewhere? I think I remember you with a book or something, some other time."

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae umms "Yup we've met twice I think now." She says cheerfully "I own the Enchanted Grounds... Wendy got you a coffee I think... She says and rubs the back of her neck. "Another time we met was at one of the restaraunts I think you worked at." she adds... Then Kae sighs as her phone starts to blow up. "Well I gotta go, stuff to be done and I gotta rest.... YOu be careful out there ok? And when in doubt run.... She then tugs a little blue sphere from her pocket and tosses it to Lyssa "YOu see one of those things, and don't think you can get away, slam this into a solid object and run through the shimmer... It'll get you to safety." She says with a slight grin...

Breath has posed:
Lyssa nods, "Some sort of magic gate thingy? Got it! I can do that. Are they going to chase me if I do?" She pockets it carefully.

Kaelyn Silverleaf has posed:
Kae looks at Lyssa curiously and laughs 'If they do, they'll go head first into a solid wall. She says and shrugs... "Gateway will drop you near the park close to my shop in Sunnyvale... If there's still trouble, get into the shop, the wards there won't let em in.