8199/A Hot Day In Harlem

A Hot Day In Harlem
Date of Scene:	07 July 2019
Location:	Harlem
Synopsis:	A hot summer day in Harlem brings Luke, Oz, Buffy, and Donatello together
Cast of Characters:	Luke Cage, Donatello, Daniel Osborn, Buffy Summers

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Luke Cage has posed:
It's a sweltering day in New York City. The summer heat arrived in force and has lingered for a few days. Luke Cage leaves Pop's Barber Shop, chuckling to himself at the conversation going on. He can't help but shake his head. "Pops and his Al Pacino kick," he says to himself as he leaves behind the conversation about the best movies of all time.

Stepping into the heat is like a blow to the face after the partial cool of the barber shop's air conditioning. Luke walks away from the place, heading down the street. Kids are out on the weekend day, but not really playing because of the heat. Just sitting huddled in the shade.

Luke Cage glances over towards the building that is casting the shadow that the kids are making use of. He hasn't had a very good feeling about the place. The people that moved in are rather closed to the rest of the neighborhood, ignoring greetings. He's twice seen trucks arrive late at night to move things in and out. But more than anything? Something about the half-dozen men he's seen going in and out just doesn't feel right.

Luke heads over to the kids. "Hey, heat got you down?" he asks. The well-known Harlem figure gets nods from the kids. "Alright, come on," he tells them, motioning them over across the street and away from the building to a fire hydrant. He grasps the nut that secures it with a hand and twists it, turning it gradually until a spray of water starts flying out of it. Enough for kids to play in, and cool off. But not too hard. Luke moves back, watching them play in the water, while his eyes go back to the building. Considering.

Donatello has posed:
    In the cool of a nearby alley shadow, far to hot to be this close to the surface in the sewers, a large figure does a fair job of creating little in the way of attention grabbing moves, tucked against a dumpster and bags that help him blend, the sight of the hydrant getting popped draws up brow ridges that cause the purple mask about it's eyes to raise.
    "Dude..." Eloquent. A calculator is drawn, a heavy duty scientific, and a stylus designed for people with RA to hold with it. Tapping figures, re-tapping, and running numbers The Tallest Turtle blinks and looks back to the big bald guy. "Woah... Man... Shredder cross-mutating people with a jaws of life now??" he shakes his head, studying from across the street, for now, fascinated by his 'discovery'.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Among the traffic on the city street is an aging Ford van, well, aging by today's standards, even if it has held up fairly well for the past 20 plus years. The driver glances curiously at the fire hydrant and smirks at his passenger slightly as it drives by. There's no parking here, which is why the people from the van return a few minutes later, minus the van, walking down the street, Oz watches the hydrant and the children playing in it. But he also spots the guy looking between it and the building. He does not, however, spot the turtle, the masked figure doing a pretty good job of hiding right now. "We should've just stayed in the van," he says to Buffy, facing the heat of the summer as he walks.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers walks alongside Oz, peering at the kids playing with the fire hydrant and smirks. "Seriously, did that guy just pop a fire hydrant?" but hey, she's not a policewoman, or a tattletale. "I mean, yay, cool water, but.." she makes a face. Soo random. "Geez, what I wouldn't give to be a kid again. Soo, you playing here too? Looks like you're getting lots of gigs lately. That's awesome!" she beams as they walk along the street, doing a little window shopping as she fans herself with one of those mini battery-operated water-spray fans. "Seriously, I wouldn't mind jumping in that hydrant water myself." she hasn't noticed any big green people hidden behind bags lurking about..Yet.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke turns to say hello to a passing pair of elderly ladies. "Miss Maddie. Miss Summers, I hope you're staying cool," he tells them. Luke goes back to watching, gaze split between the children and the building. He walks over to the hydrant, putting his hand in front of the small stream of water to cause it to jet about in different directions. He starts chasing the kids with the stream of water as they run around, boisterously yelling, squealing and generally having a good time.

The person down the alley isn't noticed for the time being. Though there's a sound from down that way. A back door opening and then a man comes out, wearing a pair of flip flops, old sweats that the tie is broken on, and a dirty t-shirt. He carries a bag of trash out to the alley and just heaves it in the direction of the dumpster. He turns and walks back towards the door, itching at his behind, which the sweats are barely doing their job in concealing as he has to tug them up again.

Donatello has posed:
    Two new people, chattering away, blonde and a ginger... hrmmm. Donatello looks up, gauging how much sunlight is left... Cold hydrant water... New press, April having to cover for him, Splinter... Leo. Ugh the training. So hot. Out of beverages... Wierdo with super strength, he'd probably keep a secret?
    Decision made, Donatello makes a few more calculations and draws a shuriken from his harness and wings it right for Luke's arm. "Tensile strength of the skin with projected fibrous build for the muscle tissue, should just break or bounce off of him."

SCIENCE!

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz grins at Buffy. "If you wanna go play in the water so bad why don' you?" he asks, with a smirk. "Wet t-shirt contest?" He looks at the man playing with the kids and smiles, briefly considering jumping in himself. But he doesn't have anymore clothes, well, he does, but he doesn't feel like changing. Buffy's question about a gig draws a nod from him, but no words, typical silent Oz. However, he spots something out of the corner of his eye, the shuriken Donatello threw. He doesn't have the reflexes to catch it, but he knows someone who does, and he nudges her sharply to point it out, hoping she could catch it before it hits Luke.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles, "Well, why not? It's friggin' HOT out here, who says only kids get to have fun? C'mon!" well at least she didn't wear a white t-shirt. She heads towards the fire hydrant, and the kids and the water. And pauses. Wait. Was that some sort of..Shuriken flying out from behind the dumpster? "Hey, watch out!" she calls out to the tall guy, quickening her pace into an all out sprint as she leaps between the shady hidden figure and the tall guy, reaching out to just barely grab it barely in time, crouching slightly as she lands between dumpster and tall guy, shuriken in her hand. "What the heck is this and who threw it?" she frowns softly, peering around, really honing in on her instincts as she focuses on the dumpster. "Alright, I know there's someone lurking in there. You'd better come out before I make you!"

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke wasn't aware of the sharp metal object flying towards him where he's playing with the kids. "What the f-" he says before managing to censor himself. If he'd said that around the kids, he'd have had to go back to Pop's and put some money in the swear jar, that's for sure.

Luke looks to the kids and says, "Better go ahead on home, it's getting late anyway," he tells them, not wanting to risk harm to them if weapons are being thrown. He keeps an eye on the alley for a response to the girl's challenge while he grips the large nut and securely twists it to shut the hydrant back off again. "Not right, throwing stuff like that with kids around," he says in a hard voice.

Donatello has posed:
    A voice comes from the shadows, "As a matter of physics it was an impossibility for that to hit anyone of you, before the blonde became an extreme variable. Her reflexes are something of a power of five over normal human, meaning only she or you could have really interacted. All vectors for trajectory on that would have been directly at your feet or two to two point five five feet, three and three quarter inches to your side, placing you between it and the kids, dude. I totally had the math right!" It's a raspy voice, deep, like he he might've screamed too much as a kid, or just always was scratchy in speaking. A hand waves in the shadows, indicating where he is.
    "Kids are totally safe, dude!"

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Okay, at least Oz understands what the science guy is saying, to an extent. Even if he was lazy when it came to school work, he was still one of the smarter kids in school. "Still don't know why you'd be throwing shurikens at people," he says, approaching the alley. He looks in, and now that he's looking, and sniffing, he manages to find the hiding turtle pretty easily. "Well I can see why you were hiding," he says quietly, with a chuckle. He looks back to Buffy and tall guy. "He's right, kids would've been safe," he says.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke is still frowning. "Even if it wasn't going to hit a kid, still shouldn't be throwing those at people," says the man who keeps an eye out on the neighborhood, and Harlem in general. He walks over to the mouth of the alley, looking in and finally getting a better look at the... guy? Turtle.

"What's your story, pal? You living back there or just hiding out?" he asks. The fact Luke is next to the building he was keeping an eye on isn't lost on him either.

Donatello has posed:
    "Me? No dude, I don't live here, I live elsewhere, and the shuriken was the best option for trajectory. I'm sorry I had to throw it, but well..." he keeps to the shadows as they look at him, and Donatello shifts his weight to one foot for the moment. "People tend to go all freaky deeky when they see me. But... I had to know man. How'd you get invulnerable?" How could he know that?! Well most folks in Harlem know... but still

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz had seen Luke twisting the fire hydrant off. Didn't phase him any, though. Neither does the turtle, he's clearly used to seeing strange things. "Probably a trade secret," he says. "If everyone knew corporations would be going off the wall, would be crazy industry." He smirks slightly. "Could ask the same of you," he says, looking at the turtle, "upright talking turtle?" He chuckles, but looks between the 2 of them. "I always end up with a group of strange people." Yeah, that seems to be the norm lately for him.

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke Cage looks over to Oz, the immense black man giving him a quick half-grin. "I imagine. What was with the girl?" he asks, motioning with his head back towards where Buffy caught the shuriken out of the air. And without it cutting into her hand, at that. "She... what was the term? Strange people?" Luke asks.

He turns his attention back to Donatello, eyeing the turtle. "Some things just are," he says with a shrug. Not likely to go into too much detail on a topic which touches on another life he's left behind in the past. "People round here..." he stats, then pauses. "Well, some are understanding. Just don't throw stuff at them."

Donatello has posed:
    "Course not dude, not unless you see a buncha dweebs in black pajamas calling them the Foot. Their bad news." Donatello frowns, looking to Oz. "I was a baby turtle, got dropped in a sewer, landed in a radioactive colloidal gel that interacted with me at a genetic level morphing me with the last thing I was in contact with, other than turtles, before falling into the ooze - which was a human. So I look like this." he sticks out a thick, three fingered, hand. "Name's Donatello."

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz shakes the turtle's hand, giving him the same firm handshake and respect as he would any human. "Pleasure," he says. "Oz." He considers the words of both. "Oh, Buffy?" he asks, turning back to Luke. "Yeah, she'd classify." He holds out a hand and looks at it, counting on his fingers. "Strange people I've met. Vampire, check. Vampire slayer, check. Werewolf," he gestures to himself. "Check. Demon, check. Super hero, check. Mutant, check. Magic user, check. I mean, just the other night I met this girl who could vanish and appear anywhere in the world whnever she wanted. And I met this mutant who could do it too. And another mutant who could throw a former football star, huge guy, out the door of a club, apparently, though I didn't see this, but I did see both her and him, and she was...smaller than me. Buffy could likely do that too, but, I mean." He shrugs, and goes quiet, that was a lot of talking for him. But it's clear he's seen some strange things and people, so nothing surprises him. "Oh, and add mutant turtle wearing a mask and big invulnerable black guy to that list."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke listens to Donatello's explanation. "Yeah, see, just like that. Same thing. Some of that colloidal shaving gel," he confirms, just latching on to the ready explanation while not grasping any of the science of it. If the hand is offered to Luke, he hesitates only a moment, studying Donatello, before shaking the hand. "Luke. Luke Cage," he says before turning to listen to Oz's explanation.

Something he said causes the shaven-headed black man's eyebrows to go up markedly. "Werewolf?" he asks, and gives a bit of a frown. "Someone like that was up to trouble outside of my place. Police hauled his body off I heard. You have anything to do with that?" he asks of the Lycan that Selene killed in the alley by his bar.

Donatello has posed:
    "Wow man! I totally sound like a doofus... Oz, Luke Cage..." Donatello shakes his head. Looking between them, "And are you saying there have been werewolves fighting around here... Like... American Werewolf in London, Werewolf? 'Cause that's boss man..." Big teeth showing in the turtle's grin now.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
"Nope," Oz says, looking at Luke. "That had nothing to do with me, though if the cops were involved, I could guess as to who it was that killed that guy. But...that's a long story." He turns back to Donatello, playing air guitar for a minute. "Awooo, werewolves of London," he sings. He lowers his hands, but is still grinning. "Well, I am a werewolf, yes. American, at that."

Luke Cage has posed:
Luke looks a little mollified as Oz claims he doesn't have any connection to the other werewolf. "Lots of strange things about," he says as if repeating the sentiment from Oz earlier. Luke looks to Donatello and says, "People shouldn't give you much trouble here, long as you don't give any to them. Well, there is a bad element though. But most of the people here? Decent folks," Luke says.

"Speaking of, I need to go see some of them. Keep the pointy weapons stowed, eh? Even if you think they won't hurt someone." He looks to the turtle and to Oz, giving them each a nod before departing.

Donatello has posed:
Donatello shrugs a little, "I don't keep much of the shuriken, I prefer bojutsu myself eh?" lacing his fingers together and cracking his knuckles. "So you gotta tell me, silver bullets? That a thing? Or aconite? Do you have the Hairy Palms, dude?" head tilting as he looks back to Oz as Luke moves on his way.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
oz laughs. "Got any silver on ya?" he asks. He holds up his hands, palm out, showing perfectly smooth palms. In fact, he looks completely human right now, with no indication that he's anything but. But the silver will prove otherwise. He nods to Luke as he departs, waving to him with a smile.

Donatello has posed:
    "Well yeah actually, I was scrap hunting" pulling out a chain and pendent, Donnie tips his head the other way - looking at Oz with a raised brow ridge. "I mean, if it hurts I'm not gonna ask you to touch it dude." the big turtle frowns, despite his curiosity.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz shrugs, with a smile. "For science," he says, holding out his hand. "I see you're curious. No pain no gain, right?" He seems pretty casual about this, surprising, but if it's a light touch it won't hurt too much, and if he's going to sait someone's curiosity, well, why not? "It does hurt though. It's one of the things that could kill me if I'm not careful."

Donatello has posed:
    Frown getting deeper, Donnie nods and watches now. "Alright... Go for it dude, just a touch - nothin' big and nowhere that'll screw you up till you... I dunno super heal or whatever?" lifting up the chain and watching, ready to take mental notes.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz takes a deep breath, placing his fingers against the chain. For...less than a second, wincing and pulling his hand bac. He holds up his hand, showing the place where his fingers had touched burnt and red. "Yep, that stuff is bad news," he says. "Just imagine what it's like going to eat at a fancy restaurant." He can't help but smirk a little, and he mimes going to pick up a fork, then immediately throwing it because he didn't know it was silver.

Donatello has posed:
    "You know dude, I could see if I could come up with a latex polymer spray, super thin - like a top layer of skin, you could still feel, but you're not in contact. Could help with the restaurant thing eh?" Donatello looks to where his fingers touched to see if there might be residue and then at Oz's hand as well while the chain is tucked away. "I mean, that'd help you hide in plain sight, right?"

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz chuckles. "Fortunately, it's not that bad, I've gotten very good at spotting true silver silverware. It's not common anymore." Though he does consider the turtle's offer, thoughtfully. "Hmm. I wonder if it'd actually work though," he says. "It'd have to be incredibly thin to allow me to feel without the silver coming in direct contact through the material."

Donatello has posed:
    "Right? It'd be a shelluva experiment dude!" Donnie starts getting more excited. "Like, you should see the slurpee-machine-refrigerator-freezer combo I built! That's like... kid stuff. This would be real science to work on, man!" bouncing on his feet now.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz can't help but laugh. Slurpee machine...refridgerator...freezer, that sounds awesome," he says. But the turtle's enthusiasm doesn't go over his head, and he smiles. "Alright alright, why not? Being experimented on by a mutant turtle." Well, there are much worse things that he could be doing, right?

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah dude!" Donnie leaps and kicks off one wall, twisting into a back flip before landing with a slight bend of his knee and a fist-pump. "This is going to be so boss! I mean it! When it's all done it's gonna be totally smooth. How smooth you ask?" he half-crouches, hands splaying for emphasis. "Milk-shaaaaake!" Yes he stole it from his brother. Suck it Raph.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Okay, the acrobatics are pretty cool. Oz looks a little impressed. The hand gesture thing does cause him to laugh though. He's not sure if this is going to go amazing or horrible, but at least he knows the person behind it will be enthusiastic.

Donatello has posed:
    Donnie pauses looking at Oz now, "Hey does your skin still react like that if it's a skin sample? I can't take you to my lab, but skin samples will totally speed the process man."

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz looks thoughtful. "Um, to be honest, I have no idea," he says, "Though I imagine if it does, one touch will ruin the sample, so you'd need a lot of them..." He half shrugs. But if it's what the crazy science turtle needs, then he'll be happy to give it.

Donatello has posed:
    Thinking of the rather gruesome idea... Donnie digs in his 'scavengin' bag and looks to Oz. "Ok, I'm going to try and create some polymer sprays as tests..." apparently not finding anything he draws a shuriken, "Those are razor sharp." offering one, "Probably sharper, I used my own bit of tech on them, nigh mono-molecular edge, but not quite there... Shave some foot callouses, back of the pad of your heal, the pad before your big toe, those are the thickest... Not right now. I'll collect 'em next time we run into eachother- which I figure will be soon." offering the throwing star now.

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz nods, taking the throwing star and turning it over in his hand thoughtfully. Fortunately he's careful enough not to cut his hand. "I'll be around new York City for a couple more days," he says. "Keep an eye out for me. I'll try and get something for you by then."

Donatello has posed:
    A small... shell shaped flip-phone is offered as well. "It auto-dials if you open it, so open it if you mean it because it'll signal me, give me coordinates, and will have a six second count before it pops and fries so it can't be back-traced. Got it?" Donatello offers, serious faced now. "I will also accept using that if your life is in danger an you need a ninja."

Daniel Osborn has posed:
Oz takes the phone and pockets it, nodding. "You got it," he says. "Thanks. I really hope I don't need it. Who were those guys to look out for? The black pajama guys?"

Donatello has posed:
"They call themselves The Foot. Can't miss em. And if you see a guy who looks like he combats vegans with brutal hate filled determination... that's The Shredder. Don't make fun of his name unless you're ready to rumble dude." Donnie looks dead serious despite the jokes. "He's powerful, he's fast, and he knows how to kill people with a touch to the right nerve cluster."

Daniel Osborn has posed:
"That's scary," Oz says. "Like, very scary." yeah, Oz is definitely taking this seriously. "I'll keep that in mind. And I think if I see him, and he starts coming after me, I know who to call." And it's not the ghostbusters. "ell, hey, I hope for good results on that science experiment, and this was fun, but I've got a gig in a couple hours so I should probably run."

Donatello has posed:
Donatello nods enthusiastically. "Copy that Gingerbread Wolf." Donatello laughs and clicks a button on his belt and a quad bike rolls up, completely silent. "I'll be lookin' for you, but if need before you leave town, or are in danger, use the shell phone." HA! The tall turtle mutant leaps back, landing on the edge of the dumpster and pushes off to land belly down on the quad bike, "Cowabunga dude!!" and then the bikes speeds off. You can't say roar, because its completely quiet, most likely electric, and moments after it's on the street an asphalt shell flips over it, making it blend into the street itself.