5253/How to Tourist

How to Tourist
Date of Scene:	27 August 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Nuala and Drake run into each other in the Library. Drake teaches Nuala about the concept of a vacation.
Cast of Characters:	Nuala Duvall, Slipstream

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Nuala Duvall has posed:
    10am, but the alien human looks like she forgot to sleep the night before. Usually she keeps to herself to begin with, secretive regarding her technology, mildly paranoid that all the earthlings want to steal it. For that reason, she doesn't have any of it on her. The Sea Song is parked...somewhere in the yard, best way to find it is probably to walk around until you literally bump into it.

    Nuala sits in the library, her fingers tracing a pad as she scans some information on it. She wears a simple pair of jeans and a ladies' green polo shirt, devoid of any particular fashion. Her dazed eyes stare emotionless at the small screen as she sits at a less comfortable table and chair, rather than someplace she might fall asleep while working. Her characteristic silver band crosses her forehead, a reminder of her otherworldly personhood in an otherwise ordinary outfit.

Slipstream has posed:
Why would Drake be down in a library at ten in the morning for? Graphic Comic Novels of course. Having heard that one of the Avengers is a big consumer of comics, he hoped to pop down here and find a couple from World of War Craft or Overwatch's early books that he only was able to read online.

Dressed in a pair of torn and repaired blue jeans and a simple black Avengers shirt that he probably slept in, Drake bumbles about the racks of books as he tries to find where the good stuff may be hidden. Spying Nuala, he calls over, "Yo, you know where the comics are at? I'm about to get lost up in here."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala responds a little slowly, lifting her chin from her hand. "I am sorry?" she asks, "Oh, they are on the..." she taps on the screen, then finds the section for cosmic material, not comics. "Fourth shelf, over there," she gently responds, apparently mistaking the word 'comic' for something that must relate to cosmic information.

Slipstream has posed:
"Cool beans, thanks a lot." Drake says as he heads down towards the shelf that was pointed out to him. Once he reaches it, he starts to scan, and scan, and scan. "Huh, you sure this is where the comics are? I see a buncha stuff relating to stars and galaxies. I'm looking for comics. You know, with digital pictures?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala turns around to look at Drake, a slight bafflement on her face. "I..." she seems to be trying to process the statement. "Comic and cosmic," she says, "They do not mean the same thing?" She looks amazingly tired. "Some of the books may have diagrams," she suggests. "I think there is an art section, if that is what you mean."

Slipstream has posed:
"Oh. Uh... how about Graphic Novels?" Drake offers to her with a grin on his face. "But no, they don't mean the same thing. Whatcha up to by the way? I haven't seen you in forever." He heads over to her casually, sliding his hands into his front pockets. "Didn't you hang out with Crusader for a bit or something? Where's he been lately?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala blinks slowly. "Well," she says, "I was able to determine that I did not need to eliminate Crusader, that was a pleasant discovery," she confesses. "And thanks to your friends here, we were able to contain most of the Oomycetan threat. I have been working to help the Asgardians find a place upon Earth," she adds, "And I am going to be likely be stranded on Earth within the next few weeks, whenever Nova Command figures out what I did at the UN." The tone is a little dull, and she shrugs. "Right now, I am trying to figure out if what I think happened with a psychic global attack is connected to the remaining Oomycetan presence on Earth. Remarkable that people will allow something they know can destroy their world to not only continue existing, but to be cultivated." She shakes her head, and lets out a large yawn. "I apologize," she says. "I do not mean to yawn at you. Graphic novels, yes." She looks at the pad, taps it a few times. "It is a form of children's literature?" she asks. "I did not know you were a parent. It is on. She points in one direction, then slides her hand over a little as she corrects to the proper shelf. "There?"

Slipstream has posed:
As she talks, Drake's eyes glaze over a bit and it goes on and on and on. He rubs the back of his neck. "Sounds like pretty heavy stuff there. Glad I just stick to busting car jackers and purse snatchers." He chuckles somewhat. "I'm not a parent. I just like reading graphic novels. The kind for adults. Funny that I'm a superhero but I still like reading comics about make believe superheros." He gives a stretch of his body. "So you are stuck here for awhile, huh? That's not too bad. Earth is awesome. We have Starbucks."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala furrows her brow. "There is Starbucks," she admits. "Terrans like to be entertained quite a bit," she observes. "Why is that? If you have real conflicts such as the earth garners, why entertain yourself with fictional conflicts of similar nature? Is it a masochistic tendency? I think it would not be biological."

Slipstream has posed:
"I don't know. I just like the art and the stories of superheroes doing heroic things. Here at the mansion this is just 'work' for me, and it's cool that I can hang out with all of these awesome guys, but in the books, no one really gets hurt and everyone has awesome costumes and cool superhero names and they fight some cool bad guys. Being a real superhero isn't that cool. You just get stabbed a lot, or set on fire, or you watch your friends get hurt." Drake shrugs his shoulders upwards as he heads over to the aisle to pluck a few books out once he finds the Overwatch ones. "Most of the books I like are based upon video games anyways. So it's not really the same thing."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "I see," Nuala says. "It is hard to believe that I am human, sometimes," she says. "I feel that I am very different from most humans. If you were to go to space, you might understand." she says. "Things are very different on every world, I am accustomed to living between them more than on them."

Slipstream has posed:
"Maybe you just need to pick a spot and stay there for awhile. Earth is great. You can be whoever you want on Earth and most people accept you for who you are." Drake says as he heads back to her table with about five novels. He flops down across from her. "If you were born here, this si technically your home, even if you were gone a long time. Take advantage of being stuck here to get to know your family if you can find them, or maybe just relax and enjoy not running around planets for a change. Take a vacation."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala smiles weakly, glancing up briefly at the graphic novels Drake has sat with. "I could find them," she admits. "But they do not know me. They would be very different," she confides. "I grew up in the stars, they likely have lived in the same region their entire lives. We would have little in common." She looks back to her pad

    "Besides," she says, glancing up again. "How do you start the conversation to say, 'hello, I am your lost relative because I was taken by aliens when I was a young child'?" She quirks an eyebrow. "It is not exactly the most natural of conversations."

Slipstream has posed:
"Then let's find them. I can do the talking." Drake says with a grin to her, tipping a wink. "I'm good at that, and besides, I bet they would be so excited to have you back. Believe me, I'd do anything to have my mother back. She took off when my dad was beating the crap outta her. Left me behind to get beat up instead. Wasn't fun."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala winces a little. "My parents were killed by the Brood," she says. "It was not a peaceful death." She takes in a deep breath. "Any family that I have would be extended. I do not remember if my parents had any siblings, I think my grandparents were, but I do not know if they would be now."

Slipstream has posed:
"... Yikes. Oh. Well... I don't think it would hurt any to at least try. You may want to see what your family is up to. You may even be able to hear stories of your family or find out some neat stuff. Either way, you're here, they're here, go take a chance. Worst case scenario is no one clicks and you go back on your path. No harm no foul." Drake says as he flips open the first book with a happy smile on his face.

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala looks at her tablet, as if she has simply gone back to her work for several seconds. "I...can not argue with that," she admits. "Perhaps I should find them and contact them. If terran record keeping is sufficient to access that information." She leans back in her chair. "You sound like my father, do you know that?" she asks. "This sounds like something he would propose."

Slipstream has posed:
"Well, I was stuck in a time prison by Glorith for a few hours which actually sped my life up by about twenty years. I got married, had a kid, blah blah blah. Then I got sucked out and back into my normal life and body and I retained all the memories of a life I never had. So I got a bunch of real world advice tumbling about in my head." Drake says as he taps his skull a few times. "But, maybe your dad was really cool." He grins at her. "Because I'm really cool."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala laughs, "He is wise," she comments, using a present tense instead of past tense. "It sounds that you have had an adventurous life for someone so young," she comments. "So you are a midling age young adult?"

Slipstream has posed:
"I'm twenty. Still kinda young, I guess." Drake says as he rubs at the back of his neck, turning a page in the novel he is reading. "Definitely one of the youngest Avengers. Rogue and I are about the same age. We're on the Young Avengers team, which is the tiny version of the real Avengers. We're kinda in a training team."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "I see," Nuala says, realizing that her joke didn't quite land, "Well, I am certain that those you help do not see you as a tiny hero," she says. "I am no one of importance, but I do the best I can. I may not be a superhero, but I still must do what I can to help protect people from the threats I can protect them from."

Slipstream has posed:
"Pretty sure that makes you a hero in some way." Drake grins at her. "So, what kinda powers you got besides being an alien that was kidnapped from Earth?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala gives an incredulous look. "I have no 'powers'," she answers in a sleepy dismissal and a wave of her hand. "I have just two arms and legs. And I was not kidnapped, I was rescued. The team that rescued me just had no way to know where to take me or how to return me," she says. "So I ended up stuck with them for a long time. Some people think I am a telepath, but I only have an exposed 'psychic nerve' due to the attack I suffered from the Brood. I wear this to protect me from the effects." She shrugs, "I suppose some call that a power. I do not."

Slipstream has posed:
"I dunno, they coulda just dropped you off at the cops or something. Sounds like kidnapping to me, with a side of rescue." Drake grins at her. "So, you got some telepathic thingy going on, but no real powers? Huh. I sorta skip through bursts of speed, like, the speed of sound, but my powers kill me the more I use it, so I can't over do it these days."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala nods, "Well, that is dangerous then," she says. "You have to understand, Nova Corps are strictly prohibited from interacting with Earth. There was virtually nothing known about terran culture at all. They would not have information on what the terran authorities would look like, or even which nation to take me to. We were at sea on a freighter, and I did not know how to speak with them to tell them anything," she defends. "And they became my family." There's a defensive edge in her voice, perhaps from being tired, perhaps just a natural desire to stick up for the Nova Corps. She clearly does not hold them at fault.

Slipstream has posed:
"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Drake says with an easy smile to her, despite the mischevious glint in his eyes as if he wanted to contest the topic more. He just drops it instead. "So, have you figured out any particular hobby you enjoy here on Earth now that you're back? Anything from your old life that you wanted to revisit perhaps? Like a beach or a city or some type of TV show you may have been into?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala takes another deep breath, as if trying to get enough air in her lungs to keep her awake. "I do not remember any. My memories of living on Earth are only vague. My father was a sea captain," she says. "His ship was the Sea Song, I remember that, I named my ship after it. But I was very young. I remember seeing the shore, but...I do not know what shores they were. Most of the ocean looks the same."

Slipstream has posed:
"Oh. Well, that sucks." Drake says as he rubs the back of his neck. "You should go exploring then. Hit up the Grand Canyon. Go see San Francisco, maybe Hawaii. Have some fun skating about the US to see some of the stuff you've been missing. Maybe Disney World in Florida. That's one of my favorite spots when I was a kid. Great to people watch also." He glances down at his comic again for a few moments as he scans the page and colorful graphics. "I can take off if I'm bugging you by the way. I'm just killing time."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala rubs the bridge of her nose. "No, I am sorry," she says. "I am not sleeping well," she confesses. "You know, I have never considered looking at...what is the word, where someone goes to look at things, not terrorist," she seems to try to remember, but such matters are not ones that she works with frequently. "Maybe I should."

Slipstream has posed:
"Investigate? That the word you're looking for?" Drake asks curiously with a chuckle as he flips another page in his novel. "If you wanna track the fam' down, I'm good to help out. Avengers database can find a mosquito bite on a random guy three thousand miles away I'm sure. How come you aren't sleeping well?"

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "No..." Nuala says, closing her eyes. "Tourist. That is the word." She gives a vague dismissive wave regarding her sleep. "It is nothing, I have just had unsettling dreams for the last couple of weeks. I suppose it is to be expected with the job."

Slipstream has posed:
"Ah. Maybe try hitting up those Melatonin gummies. They black you out pretty good. I take those when I need to put myself down after a night of gaming." Drake says as he closes the book in front of him. "Also being a tourist is awesome. You can be a dork in public and not worry about people making fun of you for too long."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "I suppose I could," Nuala says. She smiles weakly at the comment of being a dork in public. "I would likely show myself to be out of place," she admits. "Some people now recognize me, since I spoke at the UN, but most do not, that is good." She gives a slight shrug. "Perhaps you could tell me what locations are the best to visit. I could speak with Thor, perhaps he would like to go as well." She seems to get a little lost, then comes back. "Because he is also a stranger to Earth," she clarifies suddenly.

Slipstream has posed:
"Hawaii is awesome to visit. So is Paris. Um... Melbourne in Australia. Not Florida. That place is meth city." Drake says with a grin. "I traveled a lot during my time as a pro gamer. I think though for me, Hawaii is the best. It's so beautiful and peaceful if you can get a nice house to rent near a private beach. Can just chill out."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    "I see," Nuala acknowledges. "I will have to do that," she says. She stares back at her pad. "I think I should try to sleep again, though," she admits. "I am not being very productive now. Perhaps I will get one of those melatonin...gummies."

Slipstream has posed:
"That is what taking a vacation is supposed to be. Not being productive." Drake laughs softly as he rises upwards, swiping his books into his arms. "Good luck though on the sleep. I'm around if you wanna kick it and hang out. I'm sorta the ambassador for people that don't fit in on Earth or something so I don't mind hanging."

Nuala Duvall has posed:
    Nuala gets up, planting her hands on the table to help. "I will need to remember that," Nuala says. "It will be be helpful, since I think I will be on Earth for a while."